Before She Leapt
by prettyinpinkgal
Summary: Chiaki has been given a second chance: He may return to the past if he keeps Makoto from discovering how to time-leap. But whenever Makoto's involved, things are bound to be complicated.
1. Prologue

**Prettyinpinkgal: I had promised myself that I would finish all my current fanfiction stories before I began this one, but I couldn't resist. This idea has been nagging at me for ages (actually, only for about a couple of weeks, but that's not the point), so I decided to start it. I hope you enjoy! I have only seen the English Dub, and I'm not sure how different it is from the Japanese-sub version, so please forgive me for any discrepancies.  
**

**EDITED 3/23/13**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time".  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**PROLOGUE**

Chiaki stood before the Council. They were reviewing footage of the time he had been in, showing the subject Makoto Konno from the moment she first encountered the time leap device to when Chiaki said farewell, following her point of view of the past. He watched in silence, not even blushing as he watched himself ask Makoto out several times. He could only watch, unsure of what the future would bring, but certain that it was the past that mattered-this past which he was blessed with to not only to have lived through, although he might not remember all of it, but was able to watch yet a second time. And that was a true miracle, for he knew he would never see them again.

Never play baseball with them again.

Never bike with them.

Never see Kousuke.

Never see Makoto.

Part of him wondered if he was only torturing himself more by staring at the past, yet he could not bear to turn away.

He could not turn away from her again.

He watched their final farewell, and while his face was composed, as it had been during that bittersweet last contact with her, he could distinctly feel his heart break as she sobbed like a child, knowing it was all his fault.

It was due to his selfishness that he had gone to that time in the first place, just to see one stupid painting, and consequentially it was his selfishness which broke her heart.

She might not have loved him quite like he had loved her, but he knew she kept both of her friends in a special place in her heart.

Finally, the visions of the past ended with Makoto talking with Kousuke, then looking up at the sky.

He found he could not speak.

But the council members could.

Murmurs, and not a few exclamations out of rage, filled the dark room, and Chiaki found he did not care. What would they do to him that would hurt more than the pain he was already engulfing him?

"He's disturbed the natural order of time!"

"Unforgivable!"

"But it was not intentional. We've had worse cases. Remember when that young woman stopped Benedict Arnold in the Former United States from joining the British? _That _was a mess to clean up."

The man in the center of the room raised his hand for silence, which was granted.

"Mamiya-san, what have you to say for yourself?" he then asked.

"Nothing, except it was not intentional and I would do anything to go back and change it." His steady voice surprised him.

The council leader eyed him, and then stated, "You would do anything to go back in general, I gather."

He did not hesitate to confirm this.

The council leader was not a cold man, despite how many thought of him. He asked, "Would you like to stay in the past, Chiaki?"

Gasps and more murmurs followed, and Chiaki felt himself affected by their words for the first time.

"Such a thing is unheard of!"

"He would disturb the natural order!"

"But he already has. It could actually seem less conspicuous if he stayed. Can you imagine the confusion of our ancestors when he suddenly disappeared?"

"That's no-!"

The hand was once again raised, and silence again fell on the room.

"Chiaki Mamiya, your punishment is to be banned from this time for two years. You must go back to the past and erase Makoto Konno's ever discovering time leap. Time traveling is a tricky business, as you well know-I must say I admire Konno's ability to be able to navigate so easily through time, although she may not be...graceful about it. Because navigating through time is so difficult, you may not be able to go to the exact moment she discovered the device, but if it is not used within twenty days, then the ability it gives her will disappear. You must keep her from discovering that she can do the time leap. Once that is accomplished and she is still ignorant of the device's power, you may enjoy the rest of your stay in that realm with an easy heart. But do not fail, Mamiya. You have disappointed the Council once already. You are very fortunate to have this second chance."

* * *

Chiaki had never believed in miracles.

Almost everything that had once been deemed impossible could now occur with a little science, and so believing in miracles seemed ridiculous.

However, as he stepped outside under the grey clouds with a large grin on his face and the new time leap device safely in his pocket, he found he now held a different opinion.

He went to take that fateful step, but then stopped.

Instead, he backed up a bit and then ran at full speed, his hair bouncing into a messy tangle, and then leapt.


	2. Chapter One

**Prettyinpinkgal: Hello, everyone! I'm pleased to say that I am starting to work on this story again! Thank you all for your patience. I have a bit more written up, but I want to get this chapter posted so I may ask: Would anyone like to be a beta for this story? It never hurts to have someone check on grammar, plot holes, and other things. I am now in my second year of college, so things are still pretty busy for me, but I'd like to try to have a chapter weekly or biweekly, which means a quick beta would be preferred. However, obviously catching all the errors is more important. I hope you all enjoy the upcoming journey, and thank you all for your continued support.  
**

**An additional thanks goes to YukiAme. I may have responded to you when you first reviewed, but I appreciate your picking up on that little plot hole. I will smooth it out in future chapters.**

**Disclaimer: All proper characters and plots go to their respective creators. "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" does not belong to me.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER ONE  
**

It was no wonder Makoto made such epic landings after a time leap. Even Chiaki, as much as he had time traveled in the past, skidded a little and stumbled before coming to a stop. His bangs flew up and then down again, resulting in his hair being more mussed than usual.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked.

Chiaki blinked, trying to get his bearings as he ran a hand through his hair. The light was bright, and it was so hot, much hotter than his own time, which, after the wars, had never quite regained a proper greenhouse effect. He took a deep breath in and out. The air was not quite as pure as that of his own era, but it seemed easier to get somehow. It was natural, unlike the manmade creation from his home.

No, this was home.

His eyes swerved up. Yes, there were trees here, and beyond that a stretched-out sky that was a blue never seen anywhere except in the past. The exact kind of sky he had apparently told Makoto about once in the past, the past that reigned nowhere but in Makoto's memory and in the videos the council showed him.

_Makoto!_

He was dimly aware that the voice from before was still talking, but he knew it wasn't feminine (as feminine as Makoto's could be) so he kept looking with a new desperation, eyes scanning for a thin, energetic girl with cropped hair like a boy's-though she was anything but to him.

His search was hindered when something hit him hard upside the head.

Chiaki stumbled again, grasping his head, which felt as if it had been struck with at least four thick textbooks. "Oh man, what the crap?" he yelped, glaring up.

There stood Kousuke, looking a little amused despite his evident bewilderment. "Did you have a brain aneurysm or something? It's weird to see you so lost in thought."

Chiaki stared. A brief breeze swept by. "Kousuke."

He quirked a brow.

Chiaki was usually excellent at blending in-well, more or less, ignoring how violent he was when he started attending high school in the springtime. But right now, seeing the one male friend he had ever known...He very nearly hugged the guy, but thankfully kept the bromance at a minimum.

"What's up, man?" he said very casually, clearing his throat as he tried to smooth out his grin a little.

Kousuke stepped back a little. "Okay, you're kind of creeping me out here. Was it the baseball? Honestly, first Mako starts spouting nonsense, and now you look like you've been hit by a train-"

The curses that suddenly poured from Chiaki's mouth momentarily stunned Kousuke. "Dude, okay, so I got hit in the face with a baseball. That means Makoto's on her way to deliver the whatever-it-was for her mom, right?"

"Yeees," Kousuke uttered very slowly. "She literally just left a minute ago."

"Of _course_ she did," Chiaki cried, storming back and forth. "Okay, she goes to the road that has the elves...She won't _die_, of course, because she'll do the leap, but it's still not much better, and I'll have to go back _again_, and-It's a video game," he added, turning desperately towards Kousuke. "I'm talking about a video game."

"Do you need me to walk you to my dad's clinic?"

"No time. Bike, where's my...Here it is! See ya later, I hope!"

And Chiaki peddled harder than he ever had before.

* * *

Chiaki looked at his watch. Makoto crashed over the railroad crossing at the top of the hour. He had ten minutes, then. But she had a one minute head start. How would he get her off her bike? Knowing her, if she saw him coming, she'd think he was joking and decide to race him.

Despite the tight fit, he began biking through alleys, nearly running over several people and not a few cats (_Makoto said they have nine lives_, Chiaki thought; _it's all good_). Four minutes to go. Three...Two...

He made it to the hill, coasting towards a good hundred feet away from the tracks and breathing a sigh of relief. He'd made it. He'd wait to hear some yelling passersby, or a screaming Makoto, and get ready to...

...what, exactly?

Chiaki realized Makoto was going to be on a runaway bike, cascading down the steepest hill in the city, and she'd be only picking up in momentum. And if he got her bike to stop, she might go rolling downhill and crashing onto the tracks and then she'd definitely die instead of time leap.

"Ooooh, Makotoooo!" he cried, rubbing his temples fervently. "Only you'd get us in this much trouble!"

One minute. Thirty seconds. The little song was beginning.

He heard someone yelling. He heard the whizzing of bike tires. He forgot he never heard Makoto screaming in the video shown to him by the council. The fear she felt-that was his, now, as everything became real.

"Let's make this encore worthwhile," he growled, tossing his bike to the side and bracing himself.

Her form showed up ahead.

And, subsiding from the whirlwind it had been since he arrived in this era, time seemed to slow down.

Chiaki saw her boyish haircut flying behind her, like a comet tail. Her eyes were not on him. She was looking down, trying the breaks. A shoe flew off as she tried to stop herself.

And then she looked up, and he saw all the terror in her eyes melt away into confusion as she met his gaze.

That was when he knew it was not a matter of not _wanting_ to let any harm come to her. He literally _could not_.

His arms stretched out and he moved one step closer, centering himself and bending his knees like he saw those American football players doing. She managed to maneuver her bike towards him. She went to jump off the bike, but he moved towards the bike again as she came towards him, so close-

The bike tore at his leg as he pulled her off before she leapt. Chiaki cradled her body against his-was she always so small, so easy to wrap his arms around?-and he slid one hand against the back of her head, determined to lose his skin if he had to so long as she was all right.

He landed on his back, and he could not keep them from rolling, no matter how he tried to keep her from getting hurt. Finally, he threw his weight so that they skidded on his side. His grunts and cries could not be silenced, but he continued to cradle her. They stopped. Chiaki felt rocky asphalt rather than the steel and wood of railroad tracks. He'd done it. She hadn't jumped.

More importantly, she hadn't died.

The sound of the little song ended, and he gradually heard a train run by and pass, its sound fading behind it. In its place, the sound of murmurs and cries from pedestrians began to fill his ears. But the voice he wanted to hear most was not speaking.

Finally, after he breathed her name, her head began to lift from his chest. There were a few scratches on her arms, and he managed to lift his own hand to brush against hers, his thumb subtly moving in as comforting a manner as he could. Her eyes were teary, but she seemed coherent.

Her voice, when she spoke, was shaky and weak, but it was hers, and after what they'd been through-including all the time leaps-and after the time he came from, where the evanescence of human lives was too acutely understood, he reveled in it despite how distant it sounded.

"Oh my gosh. Chiaki...There's...Is that all _your_ blood?"


	3. Chapter Two

**Prettyinpinkgal: I was a little bit disappointed that I didn't get any reviews last chapter. But I understand that it's been years since I first posted this story, so people probably aren't really reading it anymore. But I still want to work on "Before She Leapt" in case there's some lurkers out there. Please review to let me know you're reading! It really truly makes my day.  
**

**Disclaimer: All proper characters and plots go to their respective creators. "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" does not belong to me.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER TWO  
**

Apparently it was.

"Idiot," Makoto said as they sat in Kousuke's father's office. Her voice went high on the last syllable as Dr. Tsuda cleaned her various scratches, a couple of which were still bleeding. Chiaki hadn't seen himself in the mirror yet, but according to Makoto, he looked a thousand times worse. He'd managed to sneak a pill from his time when Makoto was trying to get her bearings, getting up to get his bike for him to get on. The pill was far better than any of the so-called "first aid kits" of this time. The pill helped his concussion and the broken bones in his body, although it was agonizing the first minute while everything popped into place. It was helpful in a situation like this; otherwise he would have to go to the hospital, and he had no records.

"Why am I an idiot?" Chiaki said now, wincing as well when Kousuke wrapped a bandage around his head. "Aw man, that looks so uncool."

"Being a hero isn't your style, I guess," Kousuke said, his face carved with careful calmness. He was like that. He'd worry about things later without consulting anyone. For now, he'd be rational and do what needed to be done, like cleaning his friend's wounds.

_I wish the pill worked on more than just broken bones. They need to get on that. I'll have to check in..._

Chiaki sighed. He'd forgotten. He couldn't go back for another two years. For once, it seemed a shame.

"Really, Chiaki," Makoto said after thanking the doctor, hands on her hips as she stared him down. "What were you even _doing_ there? I thought you were dead when I got up and saw that mess!"

"I wanted to see if I could race you there."

She seemed to accept this, but a slight confusion still remained in her demeanor.

"Done," Kousuke said, putting the bandages into the cabinet in the corner of the room. "Thanks, Dad."

"Not at all," Dr. Tsuda said, standing and wearing his patient smile, all too similar to his son's. "I'm only grateful it wasn't worse."

Chiaki tensed a little, feeling his old fighting spirit come out. He had only met Dr. Tsuda once before, back when he was just getting to know Kousuke and Makoto. He'd been beaten pretty badly, and he was more or less forced to go to the clinic. He could feel Dr. Tsuda's disapproval for him then. Granted, considering how he had acted, Chiaki doubted any parent would feel very happy if he hung out with one of their kids, but still.

"A train was coming," was all he said, and he knew it sounded curt.

Dr. Tsuda raised a brow, his gaze moving to Makoto. "Really?"

"Yeah. I was zooming. I even lost a shoe in the process when I tried to stop. I was never so freaked out in my life. If I'd hit the railroad crossing..."

As she trailed off, a sobering image came to all of their minds. It was clearer for Chiaki than for the others.

"Then you saved her life," Dr. Tsuda said in a quiet, gruff voice. "Thank you, Mr. Mamiya."

Chiaki felt the heavy looks in all their eyes, and awkwardly stammered, "Yeah, uh, don't worry about it. Call me Chiaki."

"Very well. Shall we all go and upstairs and have some soba?"

A surprising "no" came from Makoto. The Tsuda men stared at her in wonder.

"You don't need to look at me like that," Makoto grumbled. "I'm not a pig. I'm never eating here again."

"Come now, Makoto! What will we do without a woman's hand around the house?" Dr. Tsuda cried, chuckling as Kousuke added, "We can do without it-she breaks everything she touches and she eats all the food she can find!"

"Well, excuse me!" she grumbled, grabbing her bag and wincing slightly.

Before the others moved, Chiaki grabbed her bag and threw it over his shoulder.

She gaped at him. "How are you even able to do that? You were hurt way more than I was."

He smirked. "Manly skills, that's all!"

"Yeah, I'm sure," she scoffed.

"You know," Kousuke said, ending their back-and-forth, "you were acting pretty strange earlier, Chiaki."

"Huh?" Chiaki said. But an awful recollection of his return to this time streamed through his head. _C'mon, Kousuke!_ he cried mentally, hoping he could master the art of telepathy. _Drop it, will ya?_

Kousuke, though, was an infuriatingly suave son-of-a-gun, so he just said, "Oh, never mind. I'll tell you later, Makoto."

_It really sucks that my glares don't work on him. Stop trusting your friends so much, dude,_ Chiaki thought with a scowl.

"Okay, whatever. I really do have to see my Auntie Witch now. I feel bad her present got all ruined," Makoto said. Turning to Chiaki, she said, "I'll need my stuff back. You don't live anywhere near the art gallery."

"It's cool, I can go. I'll be a gentleman, just for today," he said with a wink.

To his surprise and confusion, she only said goodbye to the Tsudas and walked away with no glancing at Chiaki.

The sounds of the city filled Chiaki's ears, like an old friend. It was evening, and last bits of sunlight were fighting against an engulfing night. Streetlights flickered on, and the sounds of parents calling their children inside and occasional honking could be heard.

He wished he could hear Makoto. Just a sigh, or a grumble, or something. The two times they rode double before, he could at least sense her somehow. Now she didn't touch him, didn't speak, didn't do anything. He was tempted to swing an arm behind him, just to make sure she was still with him.

It bothered him to no end.

"You missed the turn." The sound of her voice sent a wave of stupid relief through him, but the listless tone made him squint in the fading light.

He gently pressed his breaks, being more careful than usual to avoid jarring stops. He'd meant to simply take a loop around and go back to their route, but instead he only turned his head and looked at her.

She was leaning back. He could only see the bags on her lap, her stomach and-er, two things he probably was not supposed to pay attention to. When he didn't move, though, she slowly straightened up. She stared at him levelly, only a hint of agitation in her expression.

"Are we going or do I have to walk?" she said quietly.

"Wanna tell me what's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been ignoring me."

"No I haven't. If I was ignoring you I wouldn't be riding double with you."

"You haven't said anything to me in ages."

She pointedly looked away.

Once again today, Chiaki wished he had telepathy.

And for the first time today, he felt real, earnest anger. How could she treat him like this? It wasn't like before when he...confessed. (His face turned a little pink at this, but as he couldn't really remember it, and neither could she, his embarrassment was kept to a minimum.) There was no reason for any shyness or awkwardness on her part. She had to have been angry about something then. And that made absolutely no sense because he had saved her life today, and he had come back when she had been crying so hard at his leaving and he had hugged her and she had given a hopeful smile-

Only she didn't know any of that.

He turned forward, gripping the handlebars. They were back to the status quo. The one awful, awful thing about wiping out that old timeline was that Makoto had grown to like him. Like him as something more than friends. Something he had hoped for all time, it seemed, but really only since just a little after they'd become real friends. He was greedy, he supposed. He'd finally come to this era, having a full _two years_ granted to him to fix things and to be "banished" and everything, and already he wanted more.

He sighed, and he pushed onwards.

"Stop."

The memory of what he had seen before, in the scenes of the past, came to his mind. His confession by the river, the first one, where she was leaning back just like this, and she asked him to stop-the memory filled him as if he was experiencing it first-hand.

"Stop for a second."

They coasted to the other side of the street before he obeyed. One car passed, and then it was deserted except for them.

He looked behind, hoping for something that couldn't be, not yet, but someday...

She was not looking at him, but to the side. After inhaling deeply, she turned to him and blurted, "I'm really, really sorry, Chiaki!"

This wasn't usual for her. He almost cracked a joke at her, almost smirked, but she was being too honest. Instead, he decided to switch up his game and actually listen for once.

"I was..." Makoto's eyes drifted away before they looked up to meet his again. "It was my fault you got hurt. I was so freaked and...and I didn't know what to do and the way you appeared, and I was just really, really confused and...Chiaki, you don't realize how much _blood_ there was. You could hardly move. Now you're able to peddle a bike and we're riding _double_, too! And then there was that incident in the science room and it's just been a really, really long day. And I swear as soon as you got back from the bathroom you looked better..."

She sighed, groaning as she leaned her head against his back. "My head's all in a jumble."

Chiaki froze at the contact, then very, very slowly relaxed. He didn't bother trying to think of excuses, which he would eventually need, or practice his poker face, which once came so easily to him. He just let her lay her head against him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and judging by the way her fist gripped his shirt, she heard him.


	4. Chapter Three

**Prettyinpinkgal: I changed the prologue just a little to fit with my future plans for this story. Special shout-out to shinlover for their review! Also, I'll be doing Camp NaNoWriMo in April, so I'll be busy working on my original novel. But never fear! I'm doing some mass-writing at the moment. I'm already writing Chapter Eight of this story! I'll probably be uploading every few days, since I need to edit the chapters, go to work, and work on my schoolwork. Please keep the reviews coming. It's a huge encouragement.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time".  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER THREE  
**

The next morning, Chiaki practically half-collapsed onto the floor as his alarm went off. Immediately, a sharp grunt erupted from him, followed by some whimpering. The pills were always like this-your bones healed, but it felt like you got run over by a bus the next day, or at least whatever day you woke up. The pills also sometimes put you in a coma for a few days. Chiaki once knew a guy, after the war, who didn't wake up for a whole week. One of the soldiers almost abandoned him to die before the man woke up, gasping. The guy hadn't even been as bad off as Chiaki was.

It occurred to Chiaki that he could go to school today. Had he been feeling better, he would have shouted for joy. Baseball, being scolded by teachers, causing mayhem with his friends, making snappy remarks at Makoto's expense-basically, school beckoned as a kind of heaven. But considering how he felt like gravity had a personal vendetta against him, the idea of making it those ten blocks to school sounded like torture.

Climbing back onto the bed, Chiaki grumbled into his pillow and fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

When he woke up again, it was from immense pressure blocking off his ability to breathe.

After turning futilely, Chiaki finally flailed and smacked the pillow covering his face before bursting up, eyes still closed as he gasped for breath.

"Good, you're awake. About time."

Chiaki coughed and sputtered, "What the crap?!" as he opened one eye.

No one was in the room.

He looked around, confused. "Huh?" he mumbled under his breath, brows furrowing. Had it been a dream?

Had it been a ghost?

Chiaki felt sweat gather on his skin. _Ghosts_, he thought. _Like, The Grudge and The Ring and friggin' Sadako just lurking around with her long dark hair and-_

It must be mentioned that Kousuke and Makoto had introduced Chiaki to the delights of Japanese horror films, and despite having survived the bloodiest era in mankind's history, he could only be properly petrified when he considered ghosts in _this_ time period.

Chiaki sprang from his bed, pain now nonexistent, and prepared his fists, all the time wanting to cry like a little girl.

"Hey!" he half-sobbed. "Wh-who's in here!"

When no one answered, his knees quivered a little.

"Wh-wh-whatever," he squeaked, "I don't have time for this. I gotta...do...something." What that was, he could not quite recall.

He listened.

The birds chirped outside his window, amiably. His apartment-a two bedroom, which he afforded through the mere fact that everyone was incredibly rich in his world, due to the looting of the dead during the war-had a funny smell. He realized it was coming from him. Doing a quick spin to make sure he wasn't caught unawares by any dead children or black-haired girls, he darted into the bathroom for a quick, five-minute shower. He was not allowing any creepy serial killers a chance, either, although he knew he would take care of the pervert in five seconds flat with a solid punch. He hadn't come out of the war without learning ways to protect himself, after all. He could take on any villain.

Chiaki completely forgot that he was able to time travel to escape these oh-so-common perils without the use of violence.

When he did remember, it was after gorging himself on food and choking on unnaturally-thick milk. "I just bought this milk the day before Makoto's accident!" he shouted, still shuddering as he chucked the jug out off of the balcony outside, watching as it landed right in the garbage by the stairs. "What the frick?"

Then he remembered why he was in this world, why he had a time limit, and why he needed to be by Makoto's side as much as possible.

How much time had he lost?

With a sprint back indoors, he looked at the timer he had been given prior to leaving his time. He had been given one before, when he had done his first-ever time leap. It brought back memories of standing in the Council room, having the rules drilled into his head. After activating the device to infuse a person with the ability to time leap, that person has twenty days to use it before losing the ability forever. After using his leap in that span, even after he uses his first set of leaps and must get another device for another set, he does not have a specific time-frame to use that later set's first leap. His timer had never gotten past 00, as he'd gone to the past the very minute he'd received his first leap device for his mission.

Now, Makoto's timer was at 13.

13.

"Thirteen days," he murmured, dazed. "Thirteen freaking days I've been in bed."

Just like when he'd leapt back into this timeline, curses flew from his mouth at an astounding rate as he checked the time-10 in the morning on a school day; he needed to go to school _now_-and dressed in his uniform.

_Okay_, he thought, as he fell over trying to get his pants on, let's think about this. _The fact that the timer's still working means Makoto hasn't used her first leap yet! That's good! We're on a roll! Okay! Just keep cool, and avoid using all bikes. Just keep calm, man!_

He doubted Makoto would do any leaps while in class, but he didn't want to slow down and risk it.

As he grabbed his bag, he did one last glance at his dark apartment. But he didn't have time to think about his earlier spook as he ran to school.

* * *

After being chewed out thoroughly by all his teachers, berating him for not calling if he was allegedly "so sick", Chiaki found himself ignored by Makoto and Kousuke.

_Now what?_ he bemoaned to himself as Kousuke passed the papers for their pop quiz down the row without even glancing at Chiaki.

Makoto, at least, was still acting a bit like herself. After one pointed glance, sizing him up, she turned sharply around to face the front of the room. He could've sworn she'd let out a "Hmmph!" too.

Girls.

During lunch, Chiaki managed to latch on to Kousuke and force him to stay in the classroom. Makoto was just in his grasp, but she kicked him in the shin and coolly walked out of the room with one of the girls in class, Hayakawa. No one knew where they'd gone, and after doing a five minute search, they moved to the yard. Kousuke settled under a tree to start eating his bento, and Chiaki began ramming his head into the trunk.

"Ugh!" he cried. "I can't believe this! I should've grabbed her first!"

"I know," Kousuke said, and Chiaki swore there was some hidden meaning in it.

Chiaki blinked, ignoring his throbbing head to stare at Kousuke. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kousuke glanced up at him, blinked, then went back to eating some of his takoyaki. "Oh, I'd assumed you were upset because of the rumors."

"What rumors?"

Kousuke chewed slowly before replying, "Well, they're not rumors, really. It's the truth circulating."

"_What truth_?"

"Well, you know how Makoto's such a tomboy?"

"Yeah?"

"And she's never had a boyfriend?"

_So I'll be her first?_ "So?"

"She's a lesbian."

Chiaki's face turned to stone, and then it crumbled. "Nonononono, that's impossible." _She'd liked _me_ in the other timeline! Is it possible for someone to switch so completely?! I can't win her over if she's a lesbian!_

"I guess she preferred her friend."

"Wait, no way! I'm telling you, she likes-well, no one I guess right now, but _no_!"

"Why are you calling me a lesbian?!" a feminine voice screeched. Makoto appeared behind the trunk of the tree, glaring.

"Because he's so easy to fool," Kousuke answered, smirking at Chiaki, who stood frozen.

"I'm going to freaking murder you," Chiaki growled. "What was that for?"

"I decided to devastate you for a while as payback," Kousuke replied easily.

Chiaki's eyes flickered to Makoto's, ready for her to demand why it was any of his business what her orientation was and thus lead them into an enormously awkward confession neither of them was ready for yet.

Luckily, Makoto only looked haughtily at him and said, "You shouldn't be a homophobe, Chiaki. Not cool."

Kousuke choked on some rice as he tried not to laugh. Chiaki smiled weakly. "Yeah, you're right. I should, uh, work on that. So, what was this payback for, exactly?"

Instead of answering, Kousuke looked at Makoto. "I thought you were going to avoid him for a while."

"I was trying to sneak by you guys until I saw you telling him me and Yuri were 'together'," she huffed. "Then I, uh, kinda forgot."

Kousuke smile faded when Chiaki snapped, "What did I do to deserve this, guys? I just got back to school today!"

"Exactly," Kousuke said. "You just got back to school today, and you didn't even bother texting us while you were gone. That's not okay."

"You were gone for thirteen days, Chiaki," Makoto said, looking at him levelly. She had to be dead serious if she was acting so calm. "The last time we saw you was when you were acting like Superman after you practically killed yourself trying to help me. You never even told us where you lived, so we couldn't check up on you ourselves. We were afraid you'd ended up in a coma somewhere."

"The only thing we had going was when your big brother started acting like our coach a week ago," Kousuke said. "He told us you were okay, just super sick."

"He didn't tell us much either, but it's more than you did," Makoto barked.

Chiaki felt an odd feeling fill his stomach. It was guilt, something he hadn't known until he met these two. It seemed he couldn't get much right in this timeline. Not that falling into a coma for almost two weeks was his fault, exactly.

"I'm sorry."

"You said that before," Makoto sighed. "You're making it up to me-us."

Chiaki swore, looking wary while inside he rejoiced at the forgiveness. "What do I have to do?"

"Reverse-ignoring!" Makoto cried, pouncing on Chiaki and holding on to his arm so tight it almost hurt. "You have to hang out with me for the rest of the day."

"Aw, crap." _Aw, yes!_

"I'm out of this one. I'll let Chiaki's brother know that we're skipping out on baseball."

Oh. He'd forgotten about that little thing they'd mentioned. "My, uh, brother, huh?"

"Yeah. He said you couldn't hardly make it out of bed. He said you asked him to look after Makoto, 'cause she has a knack for getting into trouble."

"Can we drop the bike thing, please?" Makoto said, but her grip on Chiaki tightened even more before she dropped it altogether. Chiaki felt a mixture of relief and displeasure. While he could never protest to Makoto touching him, it was freaking hot outside.

"But yeah," Makoto said, "he's been walking me home and everything. I asked to visit you but he said you guys live in a crappy neighborhood and it wasn't safe for me or something. What bull. I can take gangsters on any day of the week!" she boasted, flexing her arms and impressing no one.  
Chiaki thought about the voice from this morning. A chill went up his spine despite the heat. Perhaps it hadn't been a ghost, but an imposter? But why would the guy wake Chiaki up if he was trying to butt in on his life?

But as much as he wanted to go with Kousuke and see this guy, Chiaki also didn't want anyone near the imposter-not even himself. "Don't worry about walking all the way over there, Kousuke. I'll just, uh, text him."

"Fine by me. Are we all good now? I need to eat."

"Me too," Makoto declared, plopping down so they formed a nice little triangle. "What do we have?"

Although the deep uneasiness continued in Chiaki, he allowed himself to relax as he traded parts of his lunch with everyone else.


	5. Chapter Four

**Prettyinpinkgal: Here's a new chapter, guys! Thank you for reading, and keep those reviews coming! I am being SWAMPED with things to do. For one thing, I've been uploading one of my novels on Wattpad (check out wattpad user/Alyssa_B_Cole without the space to see my novel "To Those Who Wait"!) and I've started making a webseries based on the novel "Daddy-Long-Legs" by Jean Webster, which you can watch on youtube under the channel name Jerusha Abbott. AND Camp NaNo starts in a few days, AND I have homework, AND I want to try and finish this fanfiction. Busy, busy, busy. But it's a good feeling. It's mostly fun stuff I'm occupying myself with. I hope I can have a hardcore writing session today to try and get the rest of the chapters written.  
**

**Now, regarding the rest of this story: There's going to be plot points in this story that's based on the original novel "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time", which inspired the anime film. I haven't been able to get the book myself to read, but I have read the manga based on it as well as the wikipedia page, so you might want to at least go on wikipedia to familiarize itself. Otherwise, the revelations and plot to come might not make as much sense to you.**

**Finally, apologies for the slight awkwardness of this chapter. I tried to smooth out the word choices, but I'm trying to crank out this story so fast that I probably missed some stuff.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time".  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER FOUR  
**

No matter how much he wanted to stay with her, make sure she didn't do anything dangerous or anything that would prompt a time leap, Chiaki had spent the day making plans as he went along, and thus had no real excuse to stay by Makoto's side after she'd gotten safely into the art museum. Apparently, Makoto planned on staying the night with her aunt. He'd distracted her with the reverse-ignoring game, nonchalantly bringing up karaoke and food and everything in order to grab her attention and make her declare, "And you _have _to go with me; it's the reverse-ignoring game."

"You mean the You Being a Fungus game?"

"The Me Being Clingy game," she explained with a cheeky smile.

It was actually the Chiaki Exploits This to Go On a Date With Makoto game, but he of course never said anything to her about it, merely enjoying her presence and keeping his eyes open for any weird fake-brother stalkers.

But now it was night, and he needed to let her go.

Auntie Witch- -what was her real name? Kazuko Yoshiyama, the nametag read- -looked at him, and he politely bowed his head before saying goodbye to Makoto.

"Wait a moment," Miss Yoshiyama said, eyeing him thoughtfully. "Come upstairs and have some tea with us. We can all chat. I could use a quick break."

"Weren't you going home, Auntie Witch?" Makoto asked, but she nonetheless followed her aunt up the stairs, grabbing Chiaki's startled hand to follow. Chiaki had been in the museum multiple times, but of course he'd never been in the employees-only section. It was a little exciting, which he thought was thoroughly childish of him.

Miss Yoshiyama answered, "I'm staying late tonight to work on a painting. I'm sorry we can't go home right away. This way, at least you'll have something to do for a few minutes, and I get to know you, Chiaki."

Chiaki, feeling awkward but eager to spend more time with Makoto, followed them a little behind after Makoto dropped his hand. The girl looked back and slowed her pace to walk beside him.

"You've never met Auntie Witch, have you?"

"No. You mentioned before you had an aunt who worked here, but..."

"Auntie Witch! I never introduced you to Chiaki, have I?"

Miss Yoshiyama looked behind at them. "I'd already guessed. You only ever talk about Kousuke and Chiaki as far as men go, and I'd already met Kousuke."

While Chiaki felt a slight jealousy of the fact that there were years between Makoto and Kousuke that he could never catch up on, time-traveler or not, Makoto protested with her old grin, "They're hardly _men_."

"At least we look like it," Chiaki immediately chimed in. "A certain someone doesn't even look like a girl."

"Huh?" she cried, whirling around, irritation making her fingers curl. "I may not have long hair, but I'm still a girl!"

"Prove it, Miss Fungus," he answered with a challenging smirk.

Miss Yoshiyama paused and smiled at Chiaki. "When I said Makoto will have something to do now, I meant tea, not you."

It took a full minute for the meaning of her words to spring upon the teenagers.

"Aaaaah," was the only sound out of Chiaki's mouth, tense and mournful as he buried his head in his hands. This was something no adult should ever have the right to mention around teenagers. Makoto squeaked, "Auntie Witch! I-you-ugh, I wanna dieeee..."

Chiaki suspected the reason why Makoto called her aunt a witch: Throughout all this, she only wore a serene smile on her face. It was quite like Kousuke's, but it had a mysterious charm about it. He decided she was secretly evil.

* * *

Entering Miss Yoshiyama's workroom gave them a neutral topic to talk about. It was a little cozy, and full of more things than Chiaki'd ever seen in his life, aside from in stores.

"I apologize for the mess," Miss Yoshiyama said, gesturing towards a couch. Makoto flipped over the back and landed right-side-up on the couch. Clearly she'd done this many a time before, but she never thought about how this time was different- -Chiaki was with her. He'd needed to avert his eyes to try and be a decent guy and not look at her panties as she'd flipped.

"No, this is all pretty cool, ma'am," he said, pointedly sitting on the couch the *right* way when Makoto scoffed at his politeness. "You paint, then?"

"Well, I restore the paintings of other artists," Miss Yoshiyama said as she poured some tea for them. Chiaki, while Makoto filled her aunt on things he'd heard about an hour ago, took advantage of the lack of focus on him to look at all the paintings and books. What everyone back home wouldn't give to have this in their own time! When he felt that no one was paying any attention to him, he got up and thoughtfully inspected a painting with soft greens and whites. They looked almost pixelated to him up close. He'd seen the art downstairs, of course, but it was usually when he was distracted and brooding how _his_ painting wasn't there. Besides, it was so different, having raw art this close and not behind a glass screen. It was so fragile, yet there was a power his time had forgotten existed. And Makoto's aunt restored these pieces to their former glory? His respect for Miss Yoshiyama grew.

"Just a moment, Makoto. Are you interested in art, Chiaki?"

He whirled around, some hair flopping over his eyes. "Huh? Uh, a little."

Makoto gaped at him. "What? Really? Why didn't you say anything? I would've invited you to meet Auntie sooner!"

He smirked and shrugged. "I don't really look like the type to be into art, do I?"

Miss Yoshiyama handed first Makoto her cup and saucer, and then she gave Chiaki his. The smell of mint wafted in the air from the tea. "Nonsense," she said after pausing and sizing him up in what he just now realized was a teasing manner. "One's outward appearance does nothing to hinder one's appreciation for beauty. Many of the most 'manly' of men of the past were creators of some form of art themselves, anyway. What a silly era we live in, when we think our enjoyments ought to be dictated by how we look."

Chiaki thought about this to himself as Miss Yoshiyama made her way back to her seat, reflecting on how he'd acted in this world. A lot of times he was just kicking back and relaxing, which he thought he deserved, considering how harsh his time had been. But he'd also often created a false appearance of being overly lazy or apathetic, just because he'd thought that was how the men in this world acted and he ought to be like them to fit in. Now, he saw that while he exaggerated it in this time, because in his world there was no time for sentiment, so why should he have shown his true feelings? He wasn't behaving as he should, he now thought. He was almost lying even in his attitude. He made a side-glance at Makoto. He wondered what she thought of his true self, the little she had seen of it.

Pushing these thoughts away for now, indulging in the deceitful appearance once more, Chiaki struck a pose and looked at Makoto. "Whaddya think? Ever think this stud could secretly have a passion for the _Mona Lisa_?"

He'd expected an answer in the form of one of the following options:

A) "That explains why you can't get a girlfriend."

B) "What stud?"

C) "I think you're an idiot."

So when Makoto went with the hidden D) option, Chiaki was thrown off.

"I don't know," she said, almost sulking as she surveyed him. "I don't really know what to think about you anymore."

His eyes flickered away when her gaze became way too steady for his comfort.

"Well," Miss Yoshiyama said, standing as she sipped a bit of tea. "I need to get back to work. I'll try to be done in half an hour. You can come in and tell me off if I go past that, all right, Makoto?"

Makoto smiled. "Yeah, okay. See you in a few. Don't get too wrapped up in your work. I'm beat."

Miss Yoshiyama turned to Chiaki then, her dark hair falling slightly over her shoulder. "Please come and visit anytime you wish. Not only are you our Makoto's friend, but it's also rare to find a young man so interested in the arts."

His mind flickered back to his painting. He thanked her gratefully.

All was silent as Miss Yoshiyama crossed the room and shut the door quietly behind her.

After Chiaki'd downed his tea in two gulps, he plopped down the china and collapsed on the couch next to Makoto, his arm lazily hanging close to her shoulders. "So? Now what?"

"What?"

"Are we going to have some argument every single time we talk now?"

"I'm not mad."

"It's a trap," he said automatically, looking down at her. "Every time a girl says that, she's plotting your murder."

"You're such an idiot."

"PMS?"

"Okay now I will kill you, thanks for the suggestion!"

"Well, can we at least talk like normal people? You always have this problem! You run away from everything!"

"I'm not running away!"

"Yes you are!"

"It's really awkward!"

"Tell me anyway!"

"Do you have a crush on Auntie Witch?!"

Thank goodness he'd set the china down. They would've fallen right out of his hands otherwise.

"No, Makoto," he said very slowly. "I do not have a crush on your thirty-year-old aunt."

"Thirty-five, actually."

"Can I ask you how the crap you came up with this idea?"

"I never knew you were into art, okay? I don't even know where you live. And you were really honest with my aunt just now, weren't you? It made me...It made me realize that even now you're still kinda guarded towards us. Towards me."

She took a big gulp of tea as if it was whiskey. The look on her face made it seem like she wished it was. "There," she declared, nearly smashing her china as she set it down and stood, looking extremely frazzled. "Enough of me moping. I prefer it when we're play-fighting, too. And it's exhausting taking things to heart so much anyway."

Chiaki allowed himself the chance to secretly indulge in the fact that she cared, and to think of this rationally. After a minute of Makoto growing more awkward by the second, he said, "I love play-fighting too, but I promise I'll be more honest from now on. Not entirely, but more."

She didn't seem too pleased with this, but she sat down. "Okay."

"Same goes for you. Can't ya just _tell_ me these things from now on? I haven't been friends with you as long as Kousuke has, so I can't always tell what's making you annoyed."

She quirked a brow at him. "What? You know me. I'm always open about _everything_. I almost always come right out and say it, especially to him. To everyone, really."

It was a little like Makoto had inadvertently tripped and stabbed him in the gut.

"Yeah, so, I guess I'm the only one you hold secret grudges against, huh?" His voice didn't sound quite as upset as he felt inside.

"Yeah," she readily agreed, twisting the knife very slowly. "It's weird. It's like, for once I actually _don't_ want you to think I'm completely stupid or crazy or whatever. I didn't care before. Now I do. But it's seriously weird. You're the only one I want to try and hide some of my thoughts from. I wonder why?"

After carefully holding back his hopes and words, he let them slip out slowly. "So basically, you care so much about my opinion that you don't want me to know about some of your thoughts?"

Her brow scrunched as she stared ahead, eyes darkened from confusion. "I think you're right. But if that's the case, why don't I have trouble talking to Yuri or Kousuke about anything?"

_Because you care about me in a different way from them?_ he wondered but dared not speak. Instead, he diverted them safely around this part of the conversation and skipped ahead. "Look, let's make a deal. I'll be more honest and you be more honest, okay? I swear I'll never make fun of you about serious things. Ever." He held up his right hand like a good boy scout.

She smiled. "Fine. I promise too."

She seemed to be waiting for something. He realized it was his first honest confession she was waiting for, like a puppy promised a treat. His mind scrambled for some important but still safe confession to feed her. Obviously, he couldn't tell her about his feelings. Not yet. He'd seen how _that_ went down multiple times when watching the past timeline(s). And he couldn't tell her anything about time leaping.

What came out was, "Be careful around my brother. He's not always what he seems."

It seemed good advice, and Makoto reciprocated with, "You know, I think I felt a little jealous when I thought you were interested in Auntie Witch."

Chiaki's heartbeat raced.

"If you started dating Auntie Witch, I wouldn't get to hang out with her nearly as much."

His expression was so crestfallen that she pointed and laughed jubilantly at him. Her smile was contagious, and he couldn't help but echo it on a softer, more contemplative manner.

Unlucky Day 13 turned out not to be so unlucky after all.


	6. Chapter Five

**Prettyinpinkgal: In the time I edited this chapter, I got a review and a new follower! Thank you, guys! Keep them coming! Here's another chapter for your reading pleasure.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" film or novel.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER FIVE  
**

"While we're having honesty wars," Makoto said the next day (Day 14), "I might as well tell you. While you were sick, Kousuke got asked out by a girl."

Chiaki gaped, nearly tripping as they walked from school. Then, he realized that his fake reaction was a little too exaggerated. How had he acted in the first timeline, when he'd heard the news?

"And no one told me about it," he sighed, toning down the act a bit. "I'm out for twelve days and I miss stuff like this."

"Yeah," Makoto said with a grin as she poked him, "so make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Fine. I'll only skip out when there's an exam."

"That's the worst time to do it, idiot!" she laughed, moving to kick him. He expertly jumped out of the way, smirking. Was it just him or was Makoto being a lot more physical with him lately? Sure, it usually was in the form of violence, but he couldn't think of her acting this way with Kousuke. But then, he was probably just trying to rush things along in his head.

_C'mon, man, you've got two years. Just enjoy things as they are._

But his good mood could not be dampened. Makoto hadn't time-leaped in all this time, not even when he'd been absent all those days. Sure, if she ever _did_ do a time leap, he could always leap back in time himself to stop it. But as an experienced time traveler, and especially considering what happened in the last timeline, he knew that one could not go back too often. One lost precious things that way.

"So Kousuke turned her down?" he said, resuming the previous conversation.

"Yeah." A frown settled on her lips. "Well, this is the part where our honesty wars come in. You told me I should tell you when I feel bugged by something?"

"Yeah?"

"I confronted him," she admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "I asked him why he didn't want to go out with her. I mean, she _seemed_ nice and everything. Super quiet to the point where I almost wanted to shake her- -she needed the back up of her two loud friends, too- -but I think she just needs people to stop dominating her. Kousuke listens, you know? He'd be good for her. And she's a little cute, and she seems smart."

"What, just because she wears glasses?"

"Heh, well, I guess that's not the best judge of-Wait, how did you know she wore glasses?"

Chiaki's mind whirled to find amends for his slip-up. "I'd heard some girls taking to a glasses-wearing chick, and Kousuke's name came up. It was just a guess, but I see my awesome detective skills kicked in."

"Oh yeah, you're so awesome," Makoto said dryly.

"So?"

"What?"

"Back to the confrontation."

Her cheeks colored a little, and she looked away, slouching a little. "Yeah, well, I asked why he didn't go out with her, because he's not a huge douchebag, you know? He wouldn't turn down a girl just because she wasn't super pretty or if she was shy. And he said, 'Because then a certain someone would be left all alone.' He was smiling when he said it, and I know it wasn't like he was in love with this girl either, but it's been eating me up inside. It's like, maybe I spend too much time with you guys. I guess this girl thought me and Kousuke were dating, which is a gross idea to me, but maybe you guys can't get girlfriends because of it."

"And maybe you can't get a boyfriend because you hang out with us," Chiaki added, keeping his expression composed.

She ran in front of him, bangs bouncing, making him stop as she whirled on him. "Like I'd dump you guys for some boyfriend! If he can't hang out with my friends, he's not worth it. Besides, I don't want anything to change." She looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn't.

He couldn't resist. Chiaki reached out and ran his fingers through her hair, petting her head much as he'd done the last time he'd seen her in the old timeline.

"I can't speak for Kousuke," he said with a grin, "but I'm pretty sure he feels the same way I do. I don't want things to change, either- -at least, not in a way that makes me have to give up you guys. And I don't care about other girls."

An unsaid _I only care about you_ hung in the air, but if Makoto noticed it, she gave no indication. She paused for a long moment, but then she beamed at him.

"Thanks, Chiaki. I like this new thing we have going on."

"Communication, I think they call it."

She laughed at that, and they resumed walking.

"Do you know if your aunt's working today?" he asked. He had to say, he rather liked the fact that both of them had written off using their bikes since the accident. It gave them a lot longer to talk.

"Yeah, she's closing again tonight. Why?"

"Because I'm planning on seducing her."

Her stupefied expression had him clutching his stomach, he was laughing so hard. Aware of what would come after things processed in her mind, he took off running.

"It was an honest mistake!" she screeched after him as she ran down the hill to try and catch him. He looked behind, and he saw her launch herself, making a leap-

All his fears came flooding back.

He immediately opened his arms and rushed to catch her.

Thankfully, he did, and she did not disappear from his arms to soar through time.

Holding her close, he was reminded of when he rescued her at the train tracks. Things were too frightening, and he'd been in too much pain to bask too much in their position. But now, with the only threat being the remote possibility of a time leap, he could feel how well she fit in his arms.

Makoto was frozen at first, just as his arms were frozen around her. But after a minute, she thawed, and she looked up.

That was a mistake. Seeing those wide dark eyes gazing into his so closely was enough to drive him wild.

Just before he began leaning in, he slowly let go of her. He kept himself from doing it too quickly. What if she was beginning to think romantically towards him, even subconsciously? He wouldn't risk her thinking he found her repulsive or something ridiculous like that.

Makoto stuttered as she began walking again, jerkily now. He wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying, knowing that it was all unimportant nonsense to fill the gap that had suddenly appeared between them. Was she aware of it, then? Was she aware now that the gap meant they had gone from being more like asexual buddies to boy and girl? Or did she think it was something else?

* * *

He went to the museum without Makoto. Her mother had called and said if she was going to get such a bad grade on the math quiz, she couldn't hang out with anyone until she got caught up on all her homework.

"This is so not cool! What if she extends it into summer break? What if I can't do anything but be a nerd all break?" Makoto cried, practically quivering at the thought.

"Hurry up and get your grades up, then," he said, not looking forward to all those weeks without Makoto. "How is it that you didn't even have to, uh, worry about a transfer, and I still get better grades than you do?"

"Only in math!" she protested.

And then her eyes lit up.

"That's it! You can tutor me!" Makoto announced, pointing at him. "Kousuke's always on our case about not studying, anyway. Do me a favor, huh? Pretty please?"

"I'll text you what the fees will be," he said, feeling rather suave.

"Ah! No fair! Jerk! So much for being friends!"

With a glare, she turned away to go inside the gate leading to her house. But before she made it more than a few steps, she turned back around, looking thoughtfully at him.

"What?" he said.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that it's a little nice, you walking me home. Thanks." With a final smile that Chiaki thought of all the way to the museum, she finally went inside.

The memory faded when he went to his usual spot, where there had always been the sign which read, "We're sorry. The Tokyo Art Museum is currently restoring this piece. It will be available sometime this summer. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience." Chiaki had read that sign over and over again, one time every visit.

Now, it was gone.

In its stead was a painting.

It was a traditional Japanese painting, with a man looking as if he was holding the elements. Was he a god? Surrounding him was a wreath, full of pastel-colored flowers that were blooming.

It was his painting.

It was beautiful.

And it was here.

"Do you recognize it?"

The voice was not enough to make Chiaki look away from the painting.

"Yes," he said. "That is, I'd heard about it."

"It's a strange painting," Miss Yoshiyama said, standing beside him. "The longer you look at it, the more relaxed and comforted you feel. You know, we still don't know who the painter is, and we still don't know if it's a worthy piece of art, but there's one thing I did learn while working on its restoration. This piece was painted during a historical period of famine and war many centuries ago. I wonder how someone was able to create such a beautiful painting when it must have seemed that the world was coming to an end?"

Unwelcome flashbacks came to Chiaki's mind of his own past. Memories of pain and loneliness, of him growing up into a callous and unfeeling young man. Memories of the blood and tears and corpses and emptiness of life.

And memories of how brightly his world shone when he came here, to this time.

Before he knew it, he was crying.

"You were the one who restored it," he said, his voice trembling only a little as tears continued down his face. "Thank you." This time he looked at her. Even she, as calm as she always was, seemed a little surprised at the passion in him. "Thank you. Please, I beg you, do everything in your power to preserve it for the future."

He bowed, beseeching her.

And he realized the reason he clung so much to Kousuke and Makoto, ignoring his romantic feelings towards the latter: They had not only been his first real friends in any time, but they also introduced him to the feelings this painting brought. They brought him peace and happiness.


	7. Chapter Six

**Prettyinpinkgal: Happy Easter, everyone! May you all have a blessed day~! Just for full disclosure, I did change a few things in Miss Yoshiyama's backstory (as well as the fact that she is now the younger sister, not the older) so it's not 100% accurate to the manga/novel. Enjoy the chapter!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" film or novel.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER SIX  
**

When Chiaki visited the painting again on Day 15, Miss Yoshiyama was there to greet him.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for yesterday," he said, for once feeling bashful. "I, uh, kinda lost it there, didn't I?"

"Come with me," was all she said, leading him up the stairs towards her office. He obeyed, but with great bemusement. He'd expected her to merely brush off the apology. He didn't see what was left for them to talk secretly about, except maybe that she wanted to see if he was psychologically damaged in some way. But she was into art; surely she could've brushed off his reaction as that of a secretly sensitive soul.

She closed the door to her office behind them.

"Take a seat, Chiaki," Miss Yoshiyama said as she continued facing the door. He did so, facing forward as she slowly made her way to her chair. She seemed tired, but more than anything she seemed determined.

"W-what is it?" Chiaki asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"What caused you to act as you did yesterday?"

Immediately, Chiaki relaxed. He'd had time to come up with a story as they'd walked to her office. "My grandpa mentioned it to me once, that painting. I just thought of it and I got all weepy. I'm a sentimental soul deep down, I guess," he said with a chuckle. It faded when he saw she wasn't buying it.

"You are a very smooth liar, Chiaki. Much like someone else I knew. It took me many years to recall him, but when I did..."

Miss Yoshiyama lapsed into silence. Chiaki waited patiently for her to continue.

"You asked me," she resumed, "to preserve the painting for the future. What is the future like, Chiaki? In your imagination," she tacked on when he opened his mouth to protest.

Did she know he was a time-traveler? Impossible. Maybe she thought something was weird about him, but she couldn't know something so specific, something so true.

"It's a mess," he said, his cautiousness sounding more like contemplation. "I mean, there were a ton of wars in the twentieth-century, right? There's probably more to come."

"More to come," Miss Yoshiyama repeated, crossing her legs and leaning forward. "Nuclear?"

"Who knows?" he said. He wasn't able to sound as airy as he intended. Yes, they were nuclear. Yes, they wiped out most of the earth's population.

"Does the smell of lavender have any special meaning to you?" she asked, seemingly abruptly.

His confusion was not false. "Uh, no? Should it?"

She stared at him long enough to make it unnerving. "Where's Makoto?"

"Oh. Uh. Home. Her mom's grounding her to get her grades up."

"Kousuke?"

"He's been attending college prep classes."

"So you're spending your free time here."

_What's with the interrogation?_ "Look, Miss Yoshiyama, do you mind cutting to the chase here?"

"I can't."

"Why?"

She smiled a little, for the first time since he'd seen her. "Because you'll leave this place if I do."

_Does she mean leave the museum, or...?_ "Look, ma'am, if you weren't planning on telling me anything, why'd you drag me all the way up here?"

"I wanted to see if you were connected to a man from my past."

He quirked a brow. "The man who lied?"

She nodded, standing and reaching for a picture frame. Her shoes clacked as she moved towards Chiaki and handed it to him. A girl stood between two boys. The picture smelled faintly of...

"Lavender?" he asked.

"Yes. I keep some by that picture, so I never forget again. I almost lost the picture, too, back when everything happened. Once I remembered, I was able to find it."

Was this how it felt for Makoto when they talked, sometimes? He didn't think he spoke as ambiguously as Miss Yoshiyama did, except due to certain events in this timeline. Still, Makoto said she knew he always kept part of himself censored. If his reaction to Miss Yoshiyama was like this, it was no wonder Makoto was so easily irritated by him.

"So who's the guy that lied?" he asked.

"He made an important invention that completely reshaped my life, and the lives of my friends, although no one remembers it anymore."

Well, that wasn't strange at all.

"The fact that you don't recognize him," she said, gently taking back the frame, "means you really don't know him after all. Perhaps I was mistaken. Or perhaps in the wars, he..."

The heaviness of the speculation settled on them like an ocean of water, choking his desired attempts to lighten the conversation and make his escape.

"Never mind, Chiaki," she said with a sigh, tucking some hair behind her ears. "I was hoping maybe...But never mind. You may leave. Thank you for bearing with me."

Chiaki didn't know what to say to that except to bob his head politely and move towards the door. When he glanced back, he saw her gazing at the picture frame. He could've sworn she was shaking, just the smallest bit.

"Chiaki," she then said, just as he was about to leave. "I swear to you, I will do whatever I can to protect this painting. Part of the reason I wanted to restore it was because I feared something bad may have happened to this man, or at least something bad had happened to his...country. I thought that was why we couldn't meet. And so, now, I want to protect it, so that that man can look at this painting and say, 'Kazuko's okay. And I'll be okay, too.'

"Now, I have more inspiration to save it. I'll make sure you can look at that painting years from now too, Chiaki."

* * *

As he left the museum, a call came.

"Hey," he answered, waiting for the bus.

"Are you willing to tutor me with shrimp tempura as your fee?"

Chiaki smiled, closing his eyes and savoring the sound of her voice. He needed Makoto's bizarre normalcy now more than ever, after that encounter with her aunt. "Now?"

"Yeah, or else I'm going to keep counting floorboards. As far as I can see, there are forty-two in my bedroom. I can't focus."

"Does the shrimp tempura mean you're inviting me over for dinner, too?"

"Uh-huh. My little sis left for a friend's house without letting us know earlier, so we have enough for one more person."

"I'm sure you can take care of that yourself-"

"Hey! Do you want it or not?"

_Meeting the family. Isn't this getting a little serious, Chiaki?_ a mischievous voice asked him in his head.

_I REFUSE to get myself excited for nothing_, he mentally answered.

"Sure. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Perfect. I'll let Mom know."

She hung up, and he realized the second her voice left him, he felt awfully nervous.

* * *

He'd had nothing to fear. Makoto's parents tolerated her boisterous self, and so Chiaki's mannerisms did not seem to overly concern them. They had eyed his hair with some interest, but no comment was made in derision of it. The shrimp tempura was the first bit of home-cooked food he'd ever tasted, served with udon. True, he'd had some of Kousuke and Makoto's bento before, but this was fresh. There was a delectable difference.

"Thanks for the food," everyone said, and as Makoto's father excused himself, Mrs. Konno said, "Makoto, could you do the dishes?"

"Huh? But Chiaki and I have to study!"

_Wow,_ he thought with a soft snort. _She must hate chores more than homework._

The unamused look Mrs. Konno shot her daughter sent Makoto scurrying, sending an apologetic look over to Chiaki.

As soon as Makoto left, Mrs. Konno grinned at Chiaki, saying, "I've heard a lot about you. Are things going better at school for you?"

_Makoto and her big mouth!_ "Uh, yeah, thanks for asking. Uh, no fights, if that's what you mean."

She laughed. It was hard to believe this was Miss Yoshiyama's sister. She was more...how would he put this? She was a bit more like a normal person, without deep secrets. Mrs. Konno was open and easily amused, quite like her daughter.

"You aren't a yankee, so that's good. I admit, as a mother, I was a little concerned. But Makoto's been having a lot of fun since meeting you, so I'm glad. She's pretty bold, but she only played with Kousuke until she met Yuri in her first year of high school. She doesn't branch out often. I understand she was the one who reached out to you?"

"Yeah. She asked me to play baseball after I got my a-uh, butt kicked. She didn't even ask to take me to the nurse's office." He decided since she knew how he was when he arrived in this era, he might as well be straight-up about everything.

Mrs. Konno laughed again. "You must have had quite the impression on her."

Chiaki was now acutely aware that this was what being interviewed as Makoto's potential boyfriend felt like. It resulted in deep tension and goosebumps. All he knew was that he wanted out of this conversation, even though he ought to have been elated that at least _someone_ saw him as a possibility for Makoto's future.

"I understand you met my younger sister. I knew we needed to have you over soon to make up for it. She's a bit odd, isn't she, Makoto's Auntie Witch?"

"A little, but she's really cool too." Inspiration struck. "She was telling me about some of her friends she hung out with in high school when I was checking out the museum. I like art," he tacked on, lest Makoto's unfounded suspicions of Miss Yoshiyama and him had circulated their way to Mrs. Konno's mind. "Anyway, she said there was this guy that lied to her or something and that she'd lost contact with him. She said I reminded her of him."

Mrs. Konno pondered this over, pausing only briefly to answer Makoto's shout of whether she should let the bowls soak or not. "I only remember hanging out with one boy, Goro-kun. She hung out with a few girls, but no other boys. But she still talks to Goro-kun, so it can't be him...Oh!" she cried, her eyes lighting up. "Could it be...? I remember sneaking by her bedroom when I was on my way to meet up with my boyfriend at the time. It was back when she was in her second year of college and she had a few friends over. She said, 'Do you guys remember so-and-so?' I can't remember his name, though. No one remembered him. I think she must've broken up with him, and she took it so bad she got a little warped. I don't remember her being as odd back before her second year of college. She became a lot more quiet and thoughtful.

"Oh, and how could I forget the time-travel obsession she went on?"


	8. Chapter Seven

**Prettyinpinkgal: Another chapter already! Shinlover was kind enough to drop another review so here it is :) It was a short one to edit anyway. We are actually at our midway mark for this story. Hard to believe, eh? This story ended up having quite a different pacing than I'd wanted it to have, because I'm writing so fast, but I hope you guys are still enjoying it.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" film or novel.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER SEVEN  
**

Chiaki did not help Makoto study that night. He'd excused himself shortly after Mrs. Konno stopped telling him embarrassing stories about Makoto as a little girl.

"You scared him off!" Makoto had cried, only half-joking, to her mother.

"Nah," Chiaki said with a smile that was easier in coming than it should have been, given the circumstances. She always had that effect on him. "Believe me, I'm more tempted than ever to come back and hear more stories about when you were in second grade and-"

"Okay okay okay now leave!" Makoto demanded, shoving him towards the door as soon as he had his shoes on, her face flooded with a very becoming shade of red.

She did smile at him, though, as she closed the door.

His smile faded as soon as hers was out of sight.

He did not go to sleep that night, putting together the pieces of what he had learned that day. So, Miss Yoshiyama had had a friend in high school, but no one else remembered him now. Even she admitted she'd forgotten for a long while. And then she gained an obsession with time travel. And then she decided to restore a painting, hoping that it would last for the future so that this man would look back and be encouraged. Meaning that man was almost definitely a time-traveler.

She knew, then, or at least strongly suspected, that Chiaki was one as well.

Would it be illegal to explain the truth to her? Probably. It had been illegal to tell Makoto the truth when she'd been time leaping herself with his device. His existence would be wiped out in ten seconds flat if he told Miss Yoshiyama.

Thinking about mysteries, he wondered what became of his "big brother". Makoto and Kousuke never brought him up again. Had the imposter vanished, or was he still lurking out there? Was he another time-leaper?

Too many questions.

"For now," he grumbled, looking at the 16 on the timer, "let's just get to Day 20. There's all the time in the world to figure things out after that."  
Miss Yoshiyama's face as she looked at the photograph, though, haunted him. He was banished to this time for two years. When the sentence had been dealt, he'd been ecstatic. It had seemed like such a long time. Now, it seemed all too short. Say Makoto did fall for him someday. Would she look like Miss Yoshiyama after he left, subdued and alone? He thought Miss Yoshiyama was very strong, actually, and according to what Mrs. Konno had said, she'd never been too outgoing even before her second year of college. But she was still suffering. Makoto proved her inner strength in the first timeline, but he still couldn't bear the thought of causing her more pain. He'd done enough of that.

Sighing, he stood up and got dressed. It was fortunate that it was Sunday. He wouldn't have to worry about sleeping through classes.

The sky was pale and dull in the pre-dawn light. Street lights flickered uncertainly, as if debating whether or not it was dark enough to warrant their light. Chiaki's feet pounded the pavement as he jogged, enjoying the cool breeze. It was humid, though. He'd need the fan on in his apartment later.

Half an hour later, a figure leaned against the railing by the river. Chiaki eyed him, but thought nothing of it. It was weird, but surely he wasn't the only one in this big city with insomnia at five in the morning.

He did a double-take. The man was now pulling his sleeve up, revealing a tattoo.

It was a two-digit number.

Chiaki stumbled with a yelp to a stop, flapping his t-shirt to get some cool air to sink in. The man looked at him with mild amusement as Chiaki limped his way over. His hair was light, and he eyed Chiaki with interest.

"Glad to see you've been successful in keeping Konno from leaping so far," the man said.

The voice sounded familiar. When he placed it, Chiaki yelped again, fists clenched after he jumped back.

"What the crap! You're the creep who was in my apartment! You tried to kill me!"

"I tried to wake you up. I'd been trying on and off for two days. Be grateful it worked. You had an averse reaction to the pill. If you'd slept much more, you would've wasted away and died. The pill keeps the body from wasting away as quickly as under normal circumstances, but obviously it can't keep you lasting too long without food and water."

Chiaki shuddered at the thought, but then he said, "Were you the guy who posed as my brother?"

"Yes," the man said, pushing up his glasses. "Someone needed to keep an eye on Konno. Did you tell them to avoid me? I haven't seen them at the field the past few days."

"Nooo," drawled Chiaki. "I told them it was totally cool to hang out with the lying freak I'd never met before."

The man chuckled with a little humor, but not much.

"How'd you get in my apartment? And how do you know so much about this whole thing?"

"The Council sent me. Rather, I volunteered to go. I invented the pill, you see. I came for medical reasons, and then I stayed to help carry out your mission."

"Then where've you been?" Chiaki demanded, leaning skeptically against the railing. He couldn't believe this guy. "I haven't seen you at all."

"I've lived in the apartment above yours. I have my reasons for revealing myself to only a select few people. Too many in this town might have their memories triggered. I came here once before, and the people I met then are still alive."

Chiaki grunted. "Yeah, okay. Why didn't you introduce yourself to me, then?"

"Because it was rather funny watching you panic about a ghost."

_This guy is like a mix of Miss Yoshiyama and Kousuke_, Chiaki thought, his wariness doubling. "What's your name?"

The man took a moment to clean his glasses. Chiaki was irritated by this. Was he trying to look impressive? Sure enough, the man waited until he'd put his glasses on to answer, a slight smile on his lips. "My name is Ken Sogoru."


	9. Chapter Eight

**Prettyinpinkgal: In which Chiaki fangirls. I realized that neither this story nor the film dive into the evolution of Chiaki's feelings very much, so I wanted to really show what it is about Makoto that he loves so much. Also, I feel like noogies are a major callback to the '90s. I feel nostalgic.  
**

**Also, I am excited I have so much extra time than I had expected to work on this today. Thanks again for the review shinlover! Your reviews spur me on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" film or novel.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER EIGHT  
**

Chiaki responded with a lackluster "Yeah, wow, that's so cool, man."

Sogoru seemed a little put-out. "You don't recognize my name?"

"Should I?" Chiaki countered.

Sogoru sighed. "Kids these days. They don't learn anything."

"Kids in _these_ days or_ those_ days?"

"The _those _ days being our own time?"

"Yeah."

"Both," Sogoru deadpanned. Chiaki couldn't help but let out a snort.

"So whadja do, cause the war?"

Sogoru raised a brow. "Do I look that sick to you?"

"You look like the kind of guy that probably gets mixed up in a lot of stuff by accident."

No one else would have thought so. Sogoru looked like he was just entering into middle-age, but doing so gracefully. He was tall, but not lanky. His perpetually serious expression and glasses made him seem like a teacher no one ought to mess with. And he looked a little tired.

And yet Chiaki for some reason had the distinct impression that this was the sort of man who would manage to look dignified even if he walked into a wall.

Okay, so Chiaki didn't really think he looked like the kind of guy with crappy luck. He just wanted to find some fault with the man's collected demeanor.

It didn't work, though.

Sogoru only gave a sober smile. "Yes. I do have quite a history of accidents. But you do too, I gather, leaving your leap device around like that. It's a rookie mistake," he added, raising a hand when Chiaki went to snap at him. "I did it too, once."

Chiaki was no rookie. Why was such an obnoxious guy sent to babysit him?

* * *

"So what happened? With your rookie mistake, I mean," Chiaki asked later, after he'd showered to wash the sweat off and joined Sogoru on the balcony. He bobbed his head to the side and continued walking towards the steps.

Sogoru didn't follow, nor did he answer the question. "Where are you going?"

"Groceries. I forgot that most of my stuff was expired. I've mostly just been eating at school or at a store. Are you coming or not?"

"Uh, I'm trying to keep a low profile in this town, remember?"

"Pfft," scoffed Chiaki. "You walked with Makoto and played baseball when I was out of commission, didn't you?"

"That was different. That was part of the mission. That was the one time I felt I was allowed to risk being seen by someone who might recognize me."

"So you're telling me that you spent your entire time besides that in your apartment?" Chiaki called back, descending the steps. If this guy wanted to be a bother, he might as well tag along and help carry bags of groceries. Exploitation seemed the best way to forget Sogoru's irritating qualities.

When Sogoru said nothing back, looking disgruntled, Chiaki knew he had succeeded. He glanced up at the man, smirking. "Come on, then, 'Big Brother'."

Sogoru gave him a glare, but tagged along. Chiaki was mildly surprised at this. But maybe he and Sogoru weren't so different after all. Maybe being strong in some way was part of their nature, but they still did not want to be alone.

As they walked, Chiaki noticed the way Sogoru's eyes darted this way and that. Was he really so nervous about wandering around town? Or was it something else? Just when Chiaki was about to pose a question, the older man spoke.

"Konno," Sogoru finally said. "She's very...different than I imagined her."

"Huh? What'd you imagine her like?" Chiaki demanded, feeling quite defensive.

"A little more, oh, girly, I suppose. Maybe a little more quiet than she is."

Chiaki couldn't resist snorting at that. Makoto quiet? "If she ever is, watch out. It means she's fuming about something. Or thinking too much," he added, reflecting on how previous meetings with Makoto had gone in this timeline.

"She's a good kid, though."

"Yep."

"I quite like her," Sogoru said softly, and this time, Chiaki whirled on him, suddenly experiencing what silly jealousy did to Makoto.

"You're old! Too old to even pass for an older brother!" Chiaki cried, fists tight, the utter look of disgust on his face making Sogoru burst out laughing-the first really human thing he'd done since the beginning of their acquaintance.

"First, I'm not old. I'm only thirty-eight," Sogoru said once he'd calmed down, grinning. "I ought to get you for saying that. Second of all, I don't go for high school girls. Well," he amended, "one time I did, but I was only twenty-one then. It's different."

Chiaki's face flushed with irritation and embarrassment. "W-well, stay away from Makoto."

Sogoru raised his hands and arched a brow. "I'm not interested in her in any romantic or sexual way, I assure you."

The way he said it-so dry and honest-made Chiaki grow even more affronted. "What's wrong with her? You think you're too good for her?"

"Hormonal teenage boys are so _annoying_," muttered Sogoru under his breath. Louder, he said, "No, she's great. I do wonder what you see in her, though."

Chiaki stumbled over himself. "H-how do you know how I feel for her?"

"_Everyone_ involved with the Council knows. She time-leapt repeatedly to avoid your confession. It's a bit of a running joke now."

"So for once, people in our time have a sense of humor. Unfortunately, it's been so long since they've had one, it's become _warped_," Chiaki grumbled, stopping and leaning against a streetlight with a sigh. Just what he needed: the rulers of his world mocking his semi-existent love life.

Sogoru only smirked as he continued on his way. He'd had his revenge for the "old" comment, apparently.

A thought struck Chiaki, rousing him out of his mortification. "Wait a sec," he said, standing straight and hurrying after Sogoru. "You met Makoto. It ought to be obvious."

"Hmm? What's obvious?"

_This guy..._ "What...er...what I see in her. You make it sound like there's no reason why she should, uh, attract anyone!"

"She's lucky to have such a devoted knight around protecting her honor."

"Answer the freaking question, wouldja?"

Sogoru had the nerve to roll his eyes. "She's energetic and would make for a sportsy girlfriend. Perfect if that's your type. Or is it merely that she was the first girl you met here, and you fell for her since you saw so few in our time? Are you just trying to take care of your sex drive?"

Before even Chiaki knew what he was doing, he'd shoved Sogoru up against a streetlight, fists full of the man's shirt. "Don't talk about her like that," he growled in a low, menacing voice. "Don't you _dare_ cheapen her like that! She means more to-she's-"

With one last push, Chiaki shoved himself away, trying to stifle the genuine rage gathering in his chest. Listening to Sogoru cough, he managed to grind out, "You're from my time. You ought to know. There's something...something pure and honest about her. Something fun, something healing. So yeah, being from our time and going through what we went through...of _course_ I was drawn to her first because she was so different from what I was used to. But she's more than just some ideal...I mean, she's so stupid sometimes, and she's a real mess-did you see her in the last timeline? She screwed up so much. And she gets angry and confused over the dumb stuff. And she's so flipping oblivious...But she tries."

Here, Chiaki breathed a small laugh, his rage disappearing the more he spoke. "She always tries. No matter how hard things get, whether it's in school or trying to stop her friends from dying, she rushes headfirst, to the point where she loses her balance sometimes. And I admire that. Because sometimes it feels really hard to keep trying. That's why I first came here. Did you hear how I came here to look at a painting? Well, I did, and it was being restored. It's up now, though. I'd heard that it was made in a violent war in the past, and yet it still brings happiness. I thought it would inspire me to keep going. I was right, but not before _she_ inspired me first.

"And she's so much fun. And she trusted me even when people said I was a thug. She's actually really nice, despite how mad she gets sometimes! Ha, I always seem to get her riled up. It's fun, though, you know? She gets this little crease in her forehead, but she always forgives me. And she _is_ cute, despite what people say."

Chiaki continued in this vein until they ended up in front of the convenience store. He stopped abruptly, flushing dark pink. He had never spoken the words out loud before for _why_ he liked Makoto. He supposed it had just been building up. But seriously, it was embarrassing enough if he had told Kousuke, who knew somehow that he liked Makoto. But really? Pouring out his heart to this obnoxious stranger? He wanted to punch himself for his stupidity.

"So yeah," he coughed awkwardly, "I like her. Now, anyway, I need lots of milk. And cereal. And maybe some tuna-"

"Are you sure you only like her?"

Chiaki avoided looking at Sogoru as the door slid open, beeping as they entered the store. "Okay, so I love her. Sue me."

To his surprise and even greater humiliation, Sogoru gave him a noogie. He'd never had one before except once by Kousuke, and the contact made him freeze and yelp.

"All right, kiddo," Sogoru said as he let go, grinning. "I got it. You proved you were honest about this whole thing. I've made up my mind."

"M-made up your mind about what?"

"I'm going to help you. Don't worry about a thing, kid."

Chiaki stared at Sogoru as the man went and grabbed some milk jugs. He had so many more questions, but he'd have to wait, apparently.

* * *

Over the course of the day, Chiaki learned that Sogoru had once had a little brother, but he died before Sogoru had graduated from college. He'd also been the creator of the ability to leap through time. It went through various stages of evolution before getting into the walnut-form that existed today. Just like Chiaki, he had no more family.

"All died in the war," he explained, his voice conspicuously even.

"Same," answered Chiaki, voice a little more gruff than usual. Feeling the vague pain weigh upon his heart again, as it always did once in a while when he reflected back on that time when he was ten, he changed the topic. "So you're the creator of the time leap? I imagined you'd be long dead. I mean, I imagined some old man with crazy hair. That was nearly two decades ago. I mean, in our years. You know what I mean."

"Yes. And you're thinking of Einstein-the old man with the crazy hair," Sogoru explained with a low laugh. "No, I graduated early from college and discovered the time leap when I was twenty-one. It led me into a heap of trouble. I couldn't get back to our era for a while.

"But it was okay," he added, smiling gently to himself. "Things turned out...better than I ever hoped."

Chiaki glanced at the man, but said nothing. To be honest, he'd gotten more information out of Sogoru than he would have expected already, so he saw no need to press for more details.

"Here we are," he said instead, arriving in front of a large building. "This is practically my second home now."

As Chiaki began ascending the stairs, Sogoru did not move.

Disgruntled, Chiaki sighed and said, "What? You were fine being out all day today. You can't get cold feet now. No one's recognized you."

But Sogoru did not pay attention to him. He instead stared straight ahead, an unidentifiable emotion crossing his features before his feet eventually began to step onto the stairs, muttering, "Might as well rip off the band-aid."

The art museum was more busy than usual. Chiaki supposed, it being the weekend, there were more people who had free time to stop by. With expert ease, he navigated him and his "brother" to the location of his painting. It still amazed him that he could see it anytime he wished now.

For a long time, Chiaki looked upon it until the trance was broken by movement. Sogoru's hand was reaching out towards the glass, towards the painting-

"Excuse me, Chiaki, but could you tell your friend not to touch the glass?"

Both whirled around to find Miss Yoshiyama looking surprisingly unhappy. "It takes a lot to keep the glass pure and without smudges. We don't want the night crew to have a harder time than necessary," she explained to Chiaki, a frown heavily set upon her features.

"Sorry," Chiaki said with a sheepish smile, sticking his hands in his pockets. "This guy over here's lacking etiquette."

Chiaki smirked at Sogoru, proud at his dig, but the man only stared at Miss Yoshiyama.

_Oh ho, am I a matchmaker now?_ Chiaki wondered, his smirk deepening.

But Miss Yoshiyama stared just as intently back at Sogoru, her eyes slowly widening and her lips parting very slightly.

"Kazuo-kun," she murmured, her voice almost lost as a family with small children walked by. As soon as the screaming children were several feet away, she added, almost desperate, "No! No. Your name is-your name has always been-Ken-kun."

The pieces fell into place in Chiaki's mind. Sogoru's fears of being remembered, the fact that he'd been here before, the fact that _she'd_ had a friend who'd time-leapt, and the fact that he had stared at the museum with such an expression...

"Yoshiyama-san," Sogoru whispered. When Chiaki looked at him, there were tears streaming down his cheeks.

When it seemed they were unable to speak anything else, Chiaki piped up. "You know, Sogoru," he said, nudging him. "This painting? The one you wanted to touch? She made it for you."

Without another word, Chiaki left the museum, a breathless and shocked smile on his face, as well as a little bit of pride.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Prettyinpinkgal: Four new reviews! Thank you, friends! Here's Chapter Nine. I gotta say, everything's just so dang happy and fluffy in this chapter!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" film or novel.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER NINE  
**

"Auntie Witch went on a date last night?" Makoto whispered to Chiaki as Kousuke, ignorant to their inattentiveness, went on about isosceles triangles.

"Yup. At least, I'm assuming."

"With who?"

"My brother."

Makoto's gaze flickered to Kousuke before leaning towards Chiaki again. "The no-good brother you warned me about?" she asked, her soft voice dripping with wariness.

He grinned. "I was wrong about him."

"How can you be wrong about your brother? Don't you know him at all?"

"You can say that because you're so close to your sister."

"Hardly. She's lost all her cuteness since going into middle school." Makoto paused. "Why did you think he was no good?"

Chiaki's mind reeled and landed on the first plausible answer that was the closest to honesty that he could get. "I thought he was being a lolicon."

The idea of stern-faced, thoughtful Ken Sogoru being a lolicon made both of them let out a bark of laughter. Their laughter stopped short the second they realized there was a need for discretion. They _just_ managed to dodge the pencils Kousuke chucked at their heads.

"Oi!" he shouted at them, for once really put-out. "If we're going to have any chance to do something fun when vacation starts next week, you have to _focus_, Mako!"

"I'm sorry!" she whined. "But blame Chiaki! He just told me his brother and my aunt are going out!"

"What?" Kousuke said, dropping the teacher facade to gape at Chiaki. "Mamiya-san, the no-good brother?"

"I was wrong, okay?" laughed Chiaki. "And you might as well call him Sogoru. We had, uh, separate surnames due to certain reasons. But yeah, they were making total doe eyes at each other."

Makoto gaped at Chiaki. "No lie? I mean, Auntie Witch doesn't seem like the type to fawn over a guy at first sight."

"It wasn't. They were friends in high school."

"No way," Makoto breathed. Then she paused. "What the crap! Is spring fever in the air or something? _You_ get asked out-" pointing at Kousuke "-Auntie Witch gets a guy...Yeesh! Chiaki, we need to get on this."

He stiffened. "Uh, how?"

"Both of us need to find someone and fall in love," she said, pointing at him now. "We're going to be left behind at this rate! Even Yuri has a guy she likes, but she won't tell me who."

Kousuke and Chiaki exchanged a look. Kousuke's said, "Sorry, man" while Chiaki's asked, "Why is she so freaking oblivious?"

"What?" Makoto demanded, looking back and forth between them.

Both sighed and grabbed one of her shoulders each.

"What?" Makoto wheedled.

"Back to work," Kousuke said, moving back to his chair.

"Guys, seriously. What was that look about? I'm so sick of people looking at me like I'm stupid!"

"You ought to be used to it," Chiaki replied nonchalantly. A second later, he cried, "Ow!" as Makoto punched him in the side.

* * *

An hour later, Makoto, between Chiaki and Kousuke's unyielding efforts, managed to grasp the basic concepts of the latest chapters in math.

"Hallelujah!" praised Chiaki as he collapsed on the ground, fists pumped in the air. "She can be taught!"

"Took long enough," grumbled Kousuke, taking his glasses off and setting them in their case. "Haven't you been paying attention at all this trimester, Makoto?"

"Not as well as I thought, apparently," Makoto mumbled, face down on the desk. "Sorry, guys."

"It's fine," Chiaki said, pulling himself upright and ruffling Makoto's hair. "I just want to hang out with you guys this summer. Let's do all kinds of crazy things."

"Like what?"

"Like..." Chiaki thought. What were some of the things that happened during summer vacations in this era? "Busting watermelons open on the beach. And going to festivals. Makoto, didn't you mention doing that at some point?"

"Yeah, I think. Wanna see me in a yukata?" she chirped.

"Heck yeah," Chiaki cried, wrapping an arm loosely around her.

"All right, enough flirting, you two," Kousuke said with a smirk.

Chiaki was about to make a dry comeback when Makoto suddenly pulled away and flushed. "Geez, Kousuke! What the crap?"

Both guys stared at her in bewilderment. Chiaki knew well that Makoto was the sort of girl who would roll her eyes and ignore the comment, or otherwise make a cutting remark. She wasn't the type to get embarrassed without probable cause. Was she?

"Anyway," Makoto cried, her voice high. "Let's talk about my little sister. Did I tell you she ate my pudding _again_?"

"Keep a chain on that fridge," Chiaki said inattentively. Maybe he was completely pushing his luck, but his heart raced in his chest, growing more excited with the possibility that presented itself in his mind. Dare he hope? Maybe the "spring fever" Makoto spoke of was affecting herself? This could be a real possibility. Holy...What if Miss Yoshiyama and Sogoru reuniting was a prelude to his relationship with Makoto? They had been interacting one-on-one a lot more in this timeline. And he had saved her life. Surely that ended up accidentally winning him some bonus points. There was that moment when he'd been holding her where she seemed to have a shift in her feelings. What if it was permanent? No, it _had_ to be permanent.

She liked him.

"So Kousuke," he said, clearing his throat to make his voice seem somewhat normal. He would confess again to Makoto when they were alone. "Did you ever more about that Kaho girl?"

"No," Kousuke replied, raising a subtle brow at him as he packed up his books. "I've been making sure to say hi to her in the hall, but usually her friends are around her and hurry her away. I guess they think I'm just hurting her more."

"You should totally go out with her."

Makoto, never one to be left out of a conversation, jumped in, shoving a pencil in Kousuke's face. "That's right! I've been telling you this over and over again. The poor girl _needs_ someone like you in her life! You don't have to be worried about me; I won't be left alone. I have-I have Yuri!" When they boys looked skeptically at her, she added, "And Kaoru!"

"Who's Kaoru?" both boys asked.

"Uh, a girl I work with in gym class!"

"You've never talked about a Kaoru before except when you complained that she dropped you during a trust fall," Kousuke deadpanned.

"We're completely cool now!" Makoto claimed, her face flushing adorably with agitation.

Chiaki was not so entranced with her blushing, however, to keep from saying, "What am I, sushi? You'll have me."

Makoto glanced at him, then quickly looked away. "You're fine." There was no secret smile, no blush. Nothing. The only smile he did receive was a few seconds later, when she gave him an amused but merely companionable grin.

His hopes were dashed. Ordinarily, he'd bear the sting of what was surely a joke without showing it, but he'd thought-

Never mind what he thought. It was too early to have any expectations of her returning his feelings even a little.

He was such an idiot.

Maybe _he_ was encountering the "spring fever".

He stood, grabbing his bag. "I'm out," he told Kousuke, his voice gruff. "Catch you guys later."

"Huh?" Makoto's voice stung his heart. "Chiaki, what are you-?"

"You know," he shouted, whirling on her, "I've had to do a lot for you. You don't even have a clue!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, shame punched him in the gut. He'd known he had no right to expect anything from her. But apparently he'd gone and done so anyway, to the point where he had somehow made himself believe that because of what he was doing to prevent her time leaps, because of what he had done in this timeline and the last, she _owed_ him some sort of affection.

That made him sick.

Makoto and Kousuke were both gaping at him. The expression in Makoto's eyes pained him too much, and so he mumbled a "sorry" and took off downstairs, bumping into Makoto's sister and forgetting to reply to Mrs. Konno's "Leaving so soon, Chiaki?" before shoving his shoes on and opening the door.

A minute after he'd fled the Konno residence, Chiaki spotted the perfect way to take out his anger at Makoto and himself. Some guys from school who had tried to rough Chiaki up at the beginning of the year strode up the street, cackling to themselves. Upon landing their eyes on Chiaki, they began to sneer.

"Hey, perfect timing! Look at the orange-haired freak! Hey, man, your friends not here to protect you?"

Chiaki was beyond livid now. He didn't try to say anything. He let the usual calm that always took him before he fought take root in him, letting it consume him and lull the side that had a conscience to sleep, just as he always did-

Kousuke's hand was heavy on his shoulder. "Sorry, guys, but my dad doesn't treat delinquents. You'd better find something else to do before this guy rips into you. He's a loose canon today."

Chiaki glanced at him, the part of him that was aware of his surroundings feeling surprised at Kousuke's words. Shouldn't he be stopping him from fighting altogether? Nevertheless, Chiaki shrugged him off and took a few steps towards the boys.

They, apparently, had seen the look in his eyes and took Kousuke's words to heart. "Whatever, guys! Let's go!" one of them said, and the rest half-ran back the way they'd come, occasionally looking over their shoulders.

Once his potential punching bags were gone, Chiaki glared at Kousuke. "What," he said in a dead voice. "You should be with Makoto."

"I should be with my friend who's making some stupid mistakes," Kousuke replied, glaring back. "I know why you said what you did. It was obvious you felt bad about it-"

The sound of Chiaki's fist colliding with the concrete wall beside him made Kousuke's mouth snap shut.

"Are you effing kidding me," Chiaki said, too numb to feel the pain of his blood-smeared knuckles. "You_ saw_ the look on her face. I _hurt_ her. I hurt her. Me, the one who'd promised himself he'd never let anything hurt her again."

"'Again?'" Kousuke murmured, looking at Chiaki as if for the first time. "Just calm down-"

"I am calm."

"Maybe, but you still need to talk this out. You're acting worse than you did when you first moved here. Listen," Kousuke said, more gently this time. "I know how you feel towards Makoto, and it must be awful keeping the pain in, but after all the times I've seen you swallow your hurt before, why couldn't you hold it in now? She didn't mean anything bad by what she said. I don't understand why you acted that way. What were the things that you had to do for her?"

"I can't talk about it."

"Maybe that's part of the problem, Chiaki," Kousuke said evenly after a beat passed. He took a step back. "Maybe she can't ever love you because you never let her see enough of the real you to _let_ her love you."

"Huh?"

Both boys froze. Chiaki, whose eyes were facing the road, saw the speaker, and the dangerous peace inside him crumbled.

**Prettyinpinkgal: "****I gotta say, everything's just so dang happy and fluffy in this chapter!**"

**April fools. ;D**


	11. Chapter Ten

**Prettyinpinkgal: Camp NaNoWriMo has officially started and I can't work on my novel yet because I have a chapter and a half yet to write for this fanfiction. jifdosmfiodsf. _So close_. I'm going to try to upload these chapters rapidly that way it forces me to write those last two chapters without giving me some leeway. Let's do this!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" film or novel.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER TEN  
**

"Huh?" Makoto said, eyes wide.

There was no reeling it back in. The words swam between them, taunting him. Chiaki slowly tore away his eyes from hers and glanced at Kousuke, whose face, for the first time he'd ever seen, was full of regret.

"I'm sorry, Chiaki," Kousuke said softly. "I had no idea she'd followed me."

Makoto must have seen Chiaki almost go off at those guys. She'd seen him punch the wall, yell at Kousuke about her...

She'd heard that he loved her.

Kousuke gestured up the street, and Chiaki managed a nod. Kousuke began to move before Makoto cried, "W-wait, wait! Don't go, Kousuke!" and grabbed onto his arm.

That was enough to break Chiaki's heart completely.

She was frightened of him now. She hadn't been when he beat up gangs at school once a week, but now, when his rage seemed focused on her-

He did not deserve her.

"I'll leave," Chiaki said hoarsely. "Don't worry."

But Makoto abandoned Kousuke and grabbed onto Chiaki's shirt, startling him. "No! Nobody go anywhere! What were you saying? What do-Chiaki, you're bleeding! Come on, I'll get you something to wrap it in. Do you think he needs to go to your place for stitches, Kousuke?"

"I'm fine, I don't need stitches, and stop acting so nice," Chiaki barked, pulling his hand away and looking to the side. He would not let her see him cry from her kindness.

"I'm not acting nice! I'm acting like your friend, and you are hurt, idiot!" she screamed back at him.

"Well obviously I don't think of you like a friend!" Chiaki shouted back, startling her into silence. "I'm..." He choked on his breath, coughing and squeezing his eyes shut. He hadn't wanted to tell her this way. Never this way.

"I'm in love with you" finally came from his lips. He winced at the sound of them. Had they ever sounded noble or romantic in his mind? Now they seemed ugly and jagged, too heavy for her ears. She apparently thought so too, judging by the way she moved backwards.

"I mean, I'm not ugly, am I?" he said with a weak smile. It vanished as soon as he realized he'd said that before, long ago.

She opened her mouth, but instead of answering Chiaki, she turned to Kousuke, obviously aghast. "Did _you_ know about this? Why didn't you tell me?"

Chiaki couldn't take anymore.

He ran.

* * *

Chiaki winced as the cloth wrapped around his hand.

"Hold still," Sogoru commanded, getting some tape to hold the cloth in place. "It's makeshift, but it'll have to do."

"Thanks," Chiaki grumbled. Why he'd pounded on Sogoru's door after The Incident, he had no idea. But it was a comfort to have someone here, he supposed, who knew everything that was going on, including his dealings with the future.

Miss Yoshiyama set-what else?-tea on the table beside him. Chiaki looked at it morosely, but did not take it. Instead, he said, "Sorry for interrupting you guys."

"We've been catching up for practically twenty-four hours now," Miss Yoshiyama said with a gentle smile. There seemed to be more lightness in it, though, than he'd ever seen before. "We were talking so much that we fell asleep in my office."

"Bet that was awkward to explain the next morning," Chiaki said with a forced laugh. Neither of them took the bait though, and instead began questioning him on what happened.

After a while of suffering the verbal barrages, Chiaki broke down and spoke.

"Oh, Chiaki," Miss Yoshiyama said with a sigh.

"I know. I know. I can't ever make up for this. She's your niece, and you'd like to lock her up away from me," Chiaki mourned, head in his hands.

"No," Miss Yoshiyama said firmly, grabbing his uninjured hand. "I think you need to realize that times are different here. According to what few things Ken-kun has told me about the future, it's a harsh place. You're used to fighting to survive. You're not a bad person because a bit of that's rubbed off on you, Chiaki. You've never once hit an undeserving person, have you? You've never hurt anyone who didn't come at you first, have you?"

"Not yet," he said with a humorless laugh.

"You would never actually hurt Kousuke or Makoto. I think they know that. Makoto, when she first met you, told me that she was worried for you, but she thought you were more lonely than anything."

Chiaki groaned, thinking again of how undeserving he was of Makoto's kindness.

"But she also admitted that she just really wanted another person to play ball with," Miss Yoshiyama then added with a wink.

Here, Chiaki's depression stumbled, and his chuckle was a little more real.

"As for Makoto knowing your feelings for her...let her," Sogoru said, shrugging.

Miss Yoshiyama and Chiaki both stared at him. Miss Yoshiyama was the one who ended up laughing now.

"You _would_ say that. At one point, he'd implanted memories into me of him confessing his love when we were children. You never were shy about telling me, were you?" she said to Sogoru, grinning.

It was strange to see Miss Yoshiyama so emotive, but it was stranger still to see the affectionate laughter that caught hold of Sogoru. "True, true."

Chiaki cut in. "What _is_ the story between you two, anyway?"

Sogoru shrugged again. "Well, I had just discovered the time leap, and I ended up in Kazuko's era. I ran into her first, when she was just about to enter her senior year of high school. And, well, I _may_ have implanted some memories of us growing up together in her mind."

"And in everyone else's," Miss Yoshiyama cut in.

"Yes, and in everyone else's. Then I accidentally left the time leaping trigger-an ingredient at the time was lavender-out, and Kazuko achieved the ability to time leap."

"After many adventures," Miss Yoshiyama chimed in, "I found out that his name was _not _Kazuo-kun, as I'd thought, but Ken Sogoru, and he was from the future. We were forced to separate. And I got sent back to where I'd first met Ken-kun, but without my memories of him." She turned to send a small glare at Sogoru. "I'm still not sure if I've entirely forgiven you for that, by the way. You have no idea the heartache it caused me once I figured out something was missing and I didn't know what."

Sogoru grasped her hand tightly in his. Chiaki smiled a little at them, but it did not last long. He was in no mood to feel happy at other people's fairytale endings, no matter how selfish it was.

"Wait a second," he said, a thought striking him. "Is it okay for Miss Yoshiyama to know about us being from the future? Why haven't you vanished?"

Miss Yoshiyama lifted her arm. On it was a small tattoo: 90.

"I found a loophole," Sogoru said, his eyes flashing. "Kazuko hasn't used this new time device. Neither have I, actually, hence my own tattoo. But I digress. I've found that after giving Kazuko access to time leap with this new device, I'm able to tell her the truth with no repercussions."

"But I had to disappear a few timelines ago, because I told Makoto the truth about me."

Sogoru shrugged. "It's the benefit of being the creator of the time leap, I suppose. I can't entirely break rules, but I can bend them. But back to Makoto."

Chiaki groaned again, feeling as if he was dying inside.

"I really think you're overreacting."

Chiaki's head bobbed up as he gave Sogoru a skeptical look. "You've heard the jokes about how Makoto leapt multiple times just to avoid my confession, right?"

"Makoto can be cruel without realizing it," Miss Yoshiyama said, sipping her tea. "She's rather like a child still, especially in that way. But we all must grow up sometime."

"She fell for you once, didn't she?" Sogoru said. "Perhaps she will do it again. But also give her a chance to breathe."

* * *

The next day at school, however, it was Day 18 and it was exhausting. Makoto was truly avoiding him now. But Kousuke was also avoiding Makoto.

"She can't do this," Kousuke told Chiaki at the baseball field. "I've been supporting you two getting together for ages now. And we're friends. If she's going to ignore you, she's going to have to go without seeing me, too."

Chiaki couldn't help but give an earnest grin at that as he caught the ball. "Thanks, man." But it soon slid away. "But don't you think she'd be lonely without you?"

"That. That is exactly why I want you two together. But seriously, she's lonely enough without you around. She just won't admit it. Now, maybe she'll feel forced to confront her fears. The worst that can happen to either of you is that, for the time being, she says no, and we move on. Plus, I guarantee you she's lurking by the gate, debating whether she should join us or not."

"I shouldn't have made her seem like she _owed_ me her love."

"No. But no one's perfect, Chiaki. And honestly, you're a lot less of a dick than you seem."

That time, Chiaki laughed heartily, pitching the ball towards him with all his might. Kousuke had grabbed a bat while they were talking, and he hit it as hard as he could.

"All right," boasted Kousuke as the ball went way over the fence. "Who's awesome?"

"Don't get too full of yourself," Chiaki snorted, going to the gate. He peeked this way and that, but there was no Makoto on the empty street.

Ignoring the disappointment sinking his heart, he spotted the ball in the middle of the street.

What happened next was a blur.

There was a car coming, and it was coming fast. To his surprise, it showed no sign of stopping. Chiaki began to run, but he wouldn't make it to the sidewalk in time without being struck. He prepared to leap-

But before he did so, he found himself on the ground on the sidewalk, his back feeling horribly sore. Makoto somehow was doing summersaults beside him before colliding with the fence.

"Ow," she grunted as she righted herself. Then she looked at the road. "What did I just do?"

Somewhere in Chiaki's apartment, the timer reading 18 flickered and turned blank.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Prettyinpinkgal: Chapter Eleven is here! Its unofficial title is THE FEELS.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" film or novel.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN  
**

When Chiaki realized what had happened, Makoto was standing up, rubbing her head. She glanced at him, then did a double-take.

"You're here! You're okay!" And suddenly her brown eyes were shining with unshed tears, and her thin arms wrapped around his torso with as much strength as she could muster.

"What're you talking about?" he asked warily. His voice was soft and gentle despite his fears, however. It was all he could do to keep himself from kissing her. He'd been Makoto-deprived for too long. It was messing with his head. Or maybe he had hit his head after she'd-

After she'd time-leaped.

If he had felt as if the world was falling apart last night, the entire universe was no more.

His hands immediately grasped her cheeks, making her stop babbling and stare at him. He gazed at her, taking in the warmth of her skin, the feel of her hair in his hands, the way her eyes looked up at his.

Yes, he'd messed up. He'd have to leap again to do this process all over again. Yes, he'd lose a lot in the process. But maybe this was for the best. He could confess to Makoto in a proper way. He could learn to stop having foolish expectations while still loving her. He could learn to control his irritation. He could be a better person for her, in the next timeline.

But he didn't want to go through all this yet again. It was hard enough to build a relationship with someone once. To do it multiple times...it was exhausting. As much as he loved Makoto, he wasn't sure if he could go through with this once more. The heartache, the requirement for neverending patience...

"You never think," he whispered to her, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead against hers. "I wasn't in danger."

"Yes you were," she tried to snap, but her voice was too quiet to hold any weight. "I saw. I was hiding and then I saw the car."

"And you rushed out, determined to rescue me." Chiaki sighed. "Idiot."

"You _were_ in danger, weren't you?"

Chiaki didn't answer, however. He pulled back and looked around. The car that had been about to hit him was frozen a few hundred feet away. A bird hung suspended in the air, wings out but neither flapping nor falling. Time had stopped.

Makoto noticed it too. She stood and grabbed onto his sleeve. "H-hey, what is this? Did I do this?"

"No. Not you."

A man appeared before them, wearing a suit and tie like any other businessman of this era. His eyes burrowed into Chiaki. "Chiaki Mamiya, you have let Makoto Konno find out yet again about the time leap."

"Well, if she didn't know before," Chiaki replied wryly, "she does now. She didn't even know what she did until you blabbed, sir."

"Nevertheless, the Council is not happy with you."

"What else is new?"

"You are now under arrest. The Council commands you be sent to our high security establishment until you are sentenced at a future date."

Now this was new to Chiaki. "What? Don't I get to leap again?"

"You have already disappointed the Council too many times. We will simply erase your existence from this era."

Chiaki's heart stopped.

Makoto hugged his arm tighter. "Chiaki, what's this guy talking about? This is some weird joke, right? I mean, it's like an RPG or something, right? That's where all this talk is coming from."

He freed his arm from her grasp so he could hold her against him. To the Council member, he barked, "Like heck you'll erase my existence! That'll create an even greater gap in the time-space continuum, and you know it! I've already made my mark here. If I leave their memories, I'll rip out the fabric of time with me."

Inside his heart, Chiaki was praying. He hadn't done so in such a long time, but now he cried out, _Oh, God, please don't let them forget me. I don't need anything else. I don't need Makoto to love me or anything like that. I don't even need friends. But I want my existence to _matter_ to somebody. To them. They're all I've got._

Thankfully, the Council member appeared to consider his words. Nevertheless, he then said, "That Sogoru had explained as much. But it was bad enough when you vanished in the first timeline. There are too many questions here, and that will only lead to mass confusion. And this one," he added, nodding to Makoto, "had gained a little more wisdom in that timeline as well."

"Huh?" Makoto said, proving his point.

"Come with me now, Chiaki Mamiya, and this timeline will be erased. Nevertheless, your existence shall be forgotten."

Chiaki held Makoto even closer to him.

"Mamiya. Your sentence will only be worse if you force this to go on."

"Give me a minute," he said at last. He held Makoto at arm's length, seeing her frightened expression and wishing he could make her smile again. There was some beautiful devastation in the fact that he could make her feel so strongly.

"I love you," he said. "I can say that now, because you won't remember it in the first timeline. Well, except for the times I asked you out." A small grin appeared on his lips. "I might lose my life in my time. People take time crimes very seriously. But I want you to know something, all right? _You saved my life_. For these months, I've been able to live like I've never been able to live before. That's thanks to Kousuke, and that's thanks to _you_. So I want you to be happy, whatever happens to me. My only regret..." He choked on the words. He never imagined how hard this would be. Her lip was wobbling from withheld sobs. He tried to keep his own steady and even. "My only regret, besides how I treated you, is that in the timeline we're switching back to, I told you to wait for me. Because you can't. You can't wait for a dead man.

"But if some miracle happens and you do remember, find some great guy who deserves you more than I ever did and be happy, okay? Just...just be happy."

Chiaki couldn't help himself. He allowed himself to brush his lips just once over her forehead, lingering there for a second before pulling away from her skin. Pulling away from her.

He turned, and with disbelieving resignation, he walked towards the Council member.

As he reached the man's side, he heard the sound of shoes against pavement. Makoto was darting towards him, arm stretched out for him to grasp.

Instead of reaching out as well, he couldn't help but allow one tear to stream down his cheek, recalling their last words in the last timeline:

_"I'll be waiting for you."_

_"'Kay. I won't be long. I'll come running."_

Now, he gazed upon her with tragic fondness. "You came running," he told her. It would be one more step before she reached him, but that was one last step she would not make. "You fulfilled your promise. Thank you. Now go live your life."

And he disappeared from this time just before his tears started.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Prettyinpinkgal: This is both my longest and my favorite chapter for this story. I just love these kids!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Le apt Through Time" film or novel.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER TWELVE  
**

Makoto stood by the river, gazing at empty space. Tears clung almost stickily to her cheeks as she looked at nothing.

"I'll come running," she whispered again , a watery smile on her face.

And then, for some reason, it slid away, crumbling as a horrible emptiness filled her.

Why did that promise seem like such a lie now?

"Chiaki," she sobbed, falling to her knees and hugging herself. Why? She had felt hurt and afraid before, but she thought she'd be okay, after he'd hugged her. After he'd promised he'd wait for her. Why did she feel like there was nothing to look forward to now? Why did she feel like she had just seen a ghost?

Why?

The tears came even harder when she thought of the hard job before her. It wasn't something she wanted to do over the phone, but she was cowardly enough to want to avoid seeing Kousuke's face when she told him the (abridged) news. Pulling out her phone, she dialed his number and listened to the ringing tone.

"Hey."

"Kousuke," she whimpered, trying to find some small comfort in his voice.

"Makoto? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Chiaki's gone," she wept. "And even though he promised, I don't think I'm ever going to see him again!"

"Hold on hold on. Is this some drama you're watching?"

"Huh?" Makoto said, eyes widening in bemusement.

"Who's this Chiaki guy? Is he from a show?"

The phone dropped from Makoto's hand. How could Kousuke not remember? Had his memories been wiped? But why? Why would that happen? For some reason, she had a feeling that that was not how things were supposed to go, even excluding her own emotions.

She picked up her phone again, tears drying in her desperation. This time, she called Yuri.

"Hey, Makoto. What's going on?"

"Yuri! I wanted to apologize for not telling you before that I like Chiaki."

"Um, who? Wait, you like a guy?"

Makoto ended the call and dialed her mother.

"Makoto? What's wrong? You never call-"

"Do you remember a boy I always talk about? A Chiaki Mamiya?"

"Uh, no. Is he a friend from school?"

Makoto ended the call again, and this time her hand fell idly by her side. No one remembered him. No one but her.

Even in the last timeline she was in, where Chiaki had been forced to actually disappear because he'd told her about the time leap, he was still remembered by everyone. Kousuke made a remark that Chiaki was cruel to not tell at least her where he was going. So why was this time different?

She wanted to take off running, but she didn't know where she could go.

Her skin ached. With dull eyes, she looked down at her arm, the pinches already bruising her skin. This wasn't a nightmare.

She didn't want to live in this reality.

Chiaki's name became a mantra in her head, as if it was some way to get him back. Have him come back here and fix things. Have him _exist_. When that proved impossible, she whispered his name aloud, but that did no good, either.

"You jerk!" she shrieked, her panic bubbling over and making her oblivious to the alarmed looks from disturbed passersby. "What kind of mess did you make?! Come back here and make it right! Come back here! Somebody, remember him! Please!"

She couldn't take this sitting down-literally. She stood and ran. Her legs ached as she sprinted. She'd strained them so much lately. The pain felt good, though. It made her grounded, in some way. It kind of disturbed her that she felt this way.

Every time she stopped to catch her breath, she fruitlessly interrogated her fellow classmates on her now-abused phone, hoping for some obscure, random person to remember the troublemaking third-year student who ended up mellowing out to be a borderline hippie. The keys on her poor keypad were starting to stick from the unceasing pressure on them. Eventually, when she began running again, she bumped into someone and her phone hit the ground. Another person stepped on it. The screen went black.

Makoto's world went a little black, too. She knew she pushed the person out of the way, not even apologizing as she scooped up the phone like it was her last lifeline. The screen refused to flicker on. She thought she yelled at someone. Her world had somehow become very volatile and foreign and frightening. It was no time for courtesy. When she came back to herself, she was being screamed at right back. She ran away into an alley. For two minutes, she tried over and over again to turn on her phone, but to no avail.

"No!" she screamed, throwing her phone against the wall of a store. "This can't be happening! It can't! I won't let it! I-!"

"Konno!"

Two large hands whirled her around and shook her by the shoulders. Her eyes cleared a little in her shock. It was some light-haired man. His face was sweaty, and his glasses were lopsided on the bridge of his nose.

"Wh-who are you?" she demanded, her voice high and hysterical. "Are you-?"

He did not answer. Instead, he turned around towards the main street and shouted, "Kazuko! I found her!"

Makoto's confusion deepened even more as Auntie Witch stepped into the alley, out of breath. She looked at Makoto with more sympathy than she'd ever shown while she was time-leaping. "Oh, Makoto. What do you remember?"

Although she hadn't said anything specifically, Makoto knew Auntie Witch remembered Chiaki. And that sent a whole new wave of tears streaming down her face as she broke free of the man's contact and into her aunt's waiting arms.

"Chiaki _left_! B-but he said he'd wait for me! And I thought things would be _okay_ somehow! A-and then I got all scared for some reason and I called Kousuke and he didn't remember, Auntie! No one remembers him! And I was already all upset before and now I just can't _do_ it anymore! I can't fix things, Auntie Witch!"

"Oh, Makoto," Auntie Witch murmured once Makoto's sobs overtook her ability to speak. "The fact that you remember Chiaki is proof that your love is more powerful than time itself. Why, you remembered sooner than I ever did when I was forced to forget Ken-kun. It's a miracle."

"Who cares!" wailed Makoto into her aunt's shirt. "I just wanna know what's going...on..."

The smell of lavender flooded her senses . Against her will, her world went dark yet again, but not for long.

* * *

Makoto saw images. They were blurry at first, like when a TV wasn't working right. Gradually, they were fine-tuned in her mind. She saw a little boy, lost and alone in a dark world. She became part of the scene, part of that world. It was a wasteland. Corpses littered the place. Panic set in again, but she felt a different fear than she'd ever experienced in her life.

The world around her flickered like an old television changing channels. The boy, who had a tired look on his face that was beyond his years, was given a small device. He went to a lot of foreign places, but they were places with more people-living people. The boy seemed a little happier in those places.

When the boy matured some more at the next "channel change", Makoto immediately realized he was Chiaki. It was a Chiaki even more foreign to her than the one who had beaten up the kids at school at the beginning of the year. At least Beginning-of-Term-Chiaki had looked apathetic but intense. This Chiaki looked just dead inside.

She looked over his shoulder to see the book he was reading. It was battered and old, ripped in several places, but she did notice the title of the painting he'd always wanted. She could make out one more word: "hope".

Chiaki stared at the page for a good three minutes before the channel changed again.

At eighteen, he came to their world. No, _her_ world. It was only his _now_, not back then. Back then, as amazed as he was by so many people, he'd seen only the cruelness in them, the potential for evil. Somehow, she understood this even without actually hearing his thoughts. She thought she'd never understood Chiaki so well in her life, and perhaps she never would again.

The scene flickered to one recognizable to her. It was the first day they'd officially met. Much like some people do when they see unflattering pictures of themselves, Makoto flinched and grimaced when her old-self came up to a battered Chiaki, asking him to play ball.

"I didn't even ask to take him to the nurse's office," she sighed to herself, her voice sounding as if it was underwater .

But as she knew well how cheery her own face had looked at the time, she focused in on Chiaki's. She saw the deadened look fade away as mild curiosity took its place. When she laughed and grinned widely, his own eyes widened. He could not seem to take his eyes off of her. And when Kousuke introduced himself, Chiaki's gaze still continued to go back to her old-self. Makoto did not blush. She only looked on, amazed. She didn't think that was when he, er, f-fell in love with her, but it was as if the heavy weight on his shoulders had eased. A sort of shine took over the world. There were possibilities beyond destruction. There was beauty.

There was hope.

While these emotions flooded Makoto as they did Chiaki, she reached out to him. Her hand passed through his body. In the end, this wasn't reality-not _present_ reality. So why was she seeing all of this?

Time passed, and she saw the unfamiliar scenes of his lonely apartment he'd managed to trick an old landlord into giving him. Then she saw the familiar scenes of school and the baseball field. She saw the way his heart gradually warmed up to hers. As she felt that emotion, feeling somehow not at all embarrassed but still needing a reprieve from the heaviness, she murmured, "If I'm feeling you liking me, does that make me a narcissist?" But Chiaki in the memory did not look back at her and roll his eyes or make a dig at her. This was only a memory, nothing more.

She felt the courage it took him to confess, and she felt a pit open in her stomach as she rejected him again and again without his knowledge.

Eventually, she saw the all-too-painful scene of their final parting. She looked away, feeling his own regret, and feeling something that she knew now was love.

When the scene flickered, she thought that would be it. The "television" would be turned off. But no-there was more. There was much more. There was a whole new timeline to discover, a timeline wherein Chiaki did what he could to save her physically and emotionally. She felt his joy at being able to be with her and Kousuke, and she felt his sorrow during the exhausting journey of trying to win her over in this new timeline. She felt how hard he'd tried, and how broken and jubilant he was when he saw the painting, and how he actually felt like Ken Sogoru and Auntie Witch were more or less family, even though he couldn't identify the emotion. The more Chiaki did and the more he felt, the more Makoto understood him. And she realized she loved him more than she'd ever thought possible.

And then she saw her time leap, and she saw them separate a second time.

"Hurry!" she yelled to herself, standing beside Chiaki. "Reach him! Just one more step!"

But before her old-self could reach him, the "television" permanently shut down.

* * *

When she awoke, she was in Auntie Witch's seldom-used apartment. The scent of lavender had faded, and she sat up almost immediately, ignoring the aching in her legs and head.

"Why did you bother showing me that?" she said to the two figures sitting at her bedside. She trembled from so many emotions.

While Auntie Witch gave her some water, Mr. Sogoru said, "When I first met your aunt-you saw us tell our story to Chiaki, did you not?-I implanted memories into her. That was the one trick I never allowed the government to take control of. I simply made a copy of Chiaki's memories and implanted them into yours. I thought it would help you understand."

Understand? Oh yes, she understood. She understood that because of her, he was being sentenced to death. And she understood just how much he cared for her-and she him.

Auntie Witch brushed a stray tear from Makoto's cheek. "Ken-kun promised Chiaki that he would help the two of you. He decided to deliver Chiaki's memories to you to help fill in the gap. He and I did a time-leap together as the switch to the old timeline occurred so our own memories wouldn't be wiped out."

Makoto thought this made a bit of sense, but she still had an ever-pressing question: "Why? Why go through all of this? Why not let me-" she swallowed hard "-forget?"

"Did you want to?" Mr. Sogoru asked blandly.

"Of course not! But it hurts-it _hurts_ to remember when there's nothing I can do to help him. Isn't there some way we can make them drop the sentence?"

"Not that we can think of," Auntie Witch said with a sigh. "But we knew we needed to help you understand anyway."

"_Why?_"

"Because I believe the love between Ken-kun and I enabled us to meet again," Auntie Witch said. Makoto noticed how she squeezed Mr. Sogoru's hand, and she quickly glanced away to ignore the intimate act. "If we were able to meet again after all these years, I believe you two will as well. There will be a way to fix this, surely. We just need to think."

Makoto sighed, bringing her knees up and laying her head on them. Her mind was full of so many things. How could she think of a solution like this? What she wouldn't give to at least be with Chiaki before he died.

Be with Chiaki.

"Be with Chiaki!" she cried, shooting up and standing on the bed, startling the adults. "Of course! Auntie Witch, Mr. Sogoru, we just all have to go forward in time to meet Chiaki! We won't let them hurt him! We'll fight them off!"

Mr. Sogoru gave her a sad smile. "If only it were that easy. We live in a brutal society, Chiaki and I. The Council will not be too forgiving if a person of the past barreled through."

"They let Chiaki return, didn't they? They must have some sort of heart. They're human, after all! And even if they don't, we'll put up a fight." Her fists tightened and her eyes blazed. "I'm not letting him die alone."

"Makoto," Auntie Witch said with mild alarm. "You do realize what you're suggesting, don't you? You could be killed for going against them!"

She paused, sobriety stifling her energy for just a moment. "That's true," she said slowly. "But the way I see it, I was supposed to die anyway, when the train hit me." She tried to hide the shiver that crept up her spine at the thought. "I'm not saying it won't be hard when I go, and it does seem really surreal that I could die over there. But when you think about it, why would the Council kill someone from the past? Wouldn't that screw up the past even worse? That's what they're afraid of, isn't it?"

Mr. Sogoru's eyes lit up. "That's true. That is...very true."

Auntie Witch beamed. "Then there really _is_ a chance! But how can she get to the future? As far as Makoto and I have been able to travel, both of us have only leapt into the past, never the future."

"_That_ I can handle," Mr. Sogoru said with an ever-increasing grin.

* * *

Makoto had never believed in miracles.

However, as she activated her time-leap device, generously provided for by Mr. Sogoru, she found she now held a different opinion.

"Take our hands just before you leap, Makoto!" Mr. Sogoru said, Auntie Witch standing beside him on the lawn. "I'll take us all to the era. Let go of us just before the time world begins to fade. I'll take Kazuko and try and find some things to help us break Chiaki out of there, and you will arrive by Chiaki."

"It won't be too late to help him, will it? What if he's already...?" The thought did not make her sad. It seemed too impossible.

"He's not dead yet. The Council takes their time deciding the proper punishment. "

Makoto nodded, feeling the wind ruffle her school uniform as she backed up. Breathing in and out, she realized exactly what she was doing. If the Council did decide to take her life for her interference, she would leave her family devastated and wondering what had happened to her. Kousuke would be alone. Yuri would be terrified. She could hurt a lot of people.

But she couldn't live peacefully without Chiaki, either. Not while he was hurting.

Opening her eyes, she took off running. Just as she grasped her aunt and Mr. Sogoru's hands, she leapt.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Prettyinpinkgal: Second to last chapter! Hurray! Just one more chapter, and then I work on my NaNo novel. :) Also, one part ended up being slightly reminiscent of the book "The Fault in Our Stars". Can you spot it?  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" film or novel.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN  
**

Tick.

Had time always been this slow?

Tick.

Had time always been this punishing?

Tick.

Had time always been this _annoying_?

Tick.

The echoing sound in the prison cell were enough to drive Chiaki mad. Clocks were everywhere, mocking him. This was the special cell for those who had defied the laws of time. He didn't need to be killed. This was punishment enough.

And every second that passed by was another second from the era he had abandoned. Had been _forced_ to abandon.

Chiaki's eyes were fixed on the tiles of the floor. There was a clock in each one, or at least the image of one. He had to hand it to them. They had put a lot of work on this place.

With every tick of the clock, another memory flooded back to him. He remembered the days that were timeless-the days where there was nothing left for him, before the Council taught him the ways of time-leaping. The burning piles of rubble, the melted skin, the hunger...All of it came back.

Tick.

Then there was a girl. A smiling face. She threw a ball towards him, but just a little bit out of reach. His hand stretched out, and he turned to see a young man catching it instead. Kousuke and Makoto glanced at him, expressions indiscernible.

Tick.

He'd lived two lives. Both were coming to an end.

Tick.

Chiaki closed his eyes, resignation forming apathy within him. Whatever the Council was planning, he wished they'd get it over with. They had told him yesterday he would be dealt capital punishment tomorrow. He knew they were trying to make this seem as official and non-massacre-y as possible, plus they had a knack for wanting things to be a little dramatic. But he already knew he'd be killed, although how, he did not know. Plus, there was no one to cry for him in this era. So there was no real point in stretching out the wait any longer. Couldn't they have killed him yesterday?

He sighed, staring up at the ceiling. He'd made so many mistakes, treated everyone so badly. He kept thinking that if he'd had another shot, he would have done things differently. But then Chiaki realized he might not have. After all, he had come to the second timeline with the best of intentions, and he'd still messed up. Back before he'd met Makoto and Kousuke, he'd been perfect. He'd go back in time, return to the future, and that was all there really was to it. He didn't get emotionally involved, because emotions led to mistakes and there was no one to be friends with in the first place.

And then he'd wanted to see that painting.

"If this was how things had turned out," he murmured, "with me hurting them, I wish I'd never time-leaped to that era."

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

_No_, he thought at last._ That's not true. If I hadn't met them, I never would have even wanted to live. Maybe it's selfish, but I can't wish it hadn't happened._

Tick.

_I hope they don't regret it, either._

Tick.

_Be happy, guys._

Tick.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash. He turned, seeing one of the glass tiles were smashed by a foot, breaking the clock within and shattering its consistency. The figure lay with her legs dangling over her head against the wall. She grunted as she slowly moved to an upright position.

"You need to work on your landings, Makoto," he said before he'd even processed everything.

Makoto.

"Makoto!"

He jumped up and sprinted over to her, helping her stand up and checking for any blood. Was this some sort of dream? Was this the Council's idea of a cruel joke?

Her dark eyes met his. "Chiaki," she whispered, her hand reaching out slowly towards his face, but then she stopped herself, looking shy. "You're okay still. That's...that's good. Um, they haven't hurt you?"

"That's tomorrow," he said breathlessly. "How-?"

"Long story. Let's get you out of here for now."

"You can't. There's a reason I'm not chained up." Chiaki spread his arms. "See? The door is literally impossible to get through."

"Pfft. So was time-traveling before you showed up," she chirped, relaxing. "Auntie Witch and Mr. Sogoru are around here somewhere, too. They're going to bust us out. I came first just to make sure you weren't chained up."

"How would you even get me out if I was?" he asked.

A devilish smirk appeared on her face. "I gotta hand it to Mr. Sogoru. He's a freaking _genius_ when it comes to inventing things. Including some highly destructive stuff. But, since it seems those slackers are taking their time, we might as well catch up."

Chiaki didn't respond, but sat down when she did. He didn't know what to say. So he let her speak. She told him of how he had been forgotten, what Sogoru had done, and the decision to get him out.

"You shouldn't be here," he said, once he'd had time to properly digest this turn of events. "You could be killed."

"I'm from the past. I should be fine."

"'Should,'" he pointed out. "Not 'will.' You never know with the Council." His eyes softened though, and without hesitating any longer, he reached out and cupped the back of her head. "I didn't want to put anyone in more danger."

"Think of it this way," she said after a pause, only a little flustered. "All the focus is on you right now, but eventually they would have gone after Mr. Sogoru for staying behind with my aunt. Everyone's in danger. But no one's going down without a fight. Idiot.

"Besides," Makoto continued, her cheeks darkening. "I couldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you. This is all my fault-"

"No, Makoto! I'm the one who-"

"Would you shut up and listen?" she snapped. "I'm the one who leapt. I'm the one who found out the truth. So this is technically my fault-at least a little bit. And...and I hurt you. A lot. You kept trying to protect me, and I..."

Her voice got caught, and Chiaki looked on with growing panic as tears formed in her eyes. "I-it's okay!" he cried, hands awkwardly gripping her shoulders as gently as possible in his fear. "Don't cry! Please don't cry! Uh..."

Even more awkwardly did he wrap his arms around her, as if hoping to somehow clamp off her building tears.

As he realized what he was doing, he grew even more amazed as her arms wrapped readily around him a few seconds later. "I was so scared," Makoto whispered into his shirt, her breath warm even through the clothing. "I was so scared when I thought you were gone forever. And then I saw your memories on everything, and I just...Geez, I'm so stupid."

"No you're not," he answered readily, his joints growing less stiff as the embrace became more comfortable and ever more natural. "I didn't let you see anything beneath the facade before. I didn't...I'm just sorry, okay?"

"Okay. Me too."

"Okay."

They stayed like that for quite a while, leaning against the wall, her nestled in his arms. He'd never gotten much further in his fantasies than his imaginings of Makoto agreeing to go out with him. She hadn't said yes to him, but she was here, with him, and there were some things that were beyond words.  
But he knew things could not last like this forever. The longer Miss Yoshiyama and Sogoru took, the more Chiaki began to feel uneasy. Had they been caught, or worse? He began feeling Makoto cuddle up closer to him, and he knew she was feeling the same concerns.

"If they-the Council-come for me before Sogoru and your aunt get here, I want you to leap," he told her softly into her hair. "As fast as you can. I won't let you risk getting hurt."

Makoto didn't answer. Instead she said, "Kousuke was right."

"Hmm?"

"Maybe I couldn't love you because I didn't see enough of the real you to let me love you. There were too many holes. I didn't understand you."

His grip around her shoulders tightened. "Yeah?"

"But I think I do now. You know? Understand you. Or I'm getting there, at least."

She shifted out of his embrace. He turned to look at her, not daring to believe again, and she proved it by shoving her lips briefly against his in a highly inexperienced way before withdrawing.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

"Um," said Chiaki.

"'Time waits for no one' and all that, right? So, uh, carpe diem! Yolo!"

"Um."

"I love you, Chiaki Mamiya," she said, looking him dead in the eye despite her slight trembling. "And I will go out with you, if you'll have me."

Tick.

Tick.

"That sounded more like a marriage proposal than anything," he said with a gasp of a laugh. What was going _on_ today? Had he literally gone crazy in here?

No, he hadn't. The way Makoto's face crumpled at his goodnatured teasing made him realize this was entirely real.

Immediately she stood and began pacing, escaping his grasp. "Geez, I suck at this, don't I? I'm not being cute or girly at all! I freaking suck at this! B-but, in my defense," she shouted, whirling on him with a hurt and embarrassed glare, "I'm brand-new to this! I've never k-k-kissed someone, or gone out with anyone, or even had a _crush_ on anyone! So you can't judge me! And when we get back, you can't make fun of me to Kousuke! I mean, that would be just-"

"Makoto. Would you shut up?"

Her eyes went wide as he leapt to his feet, wrapped his arms around her, but then very carefully dipped his head. He wasn't very good at this either. Their noses bumped at first, and their lips met at an odd angle. They both tried to readjust, but doing so at the same time in two different directions made it even more awkward. They pulled away, and then they laughed and laughed, giddiness taking the place of their fear.

"Practice!" Chiaki whooped, embracing her as tightly as he could. "Lots and lots of practice! That's all we need!"

She kicked him very lightly and snuggled against him.

"And we _will_ go back!" he declared over her shoulder, eyes shining. "We'll go back and be freaking happy and Kousuke's gonna be all, 'Hey, my OTP got together!' and we'll play baseball and I'll _finally_ see you in that yukata! I'm definitely not dying on you, Makoto, and we definitely will get out of here and holy crap, hey guys!"

He beamed over at Sogoru and Miss Yoshiyama, who were standing in the doorway, out of breath. Their gasps faded as they took in Makoto and Chiaki before grinning as well.

"Well, I'm glad something's going right at last," Miss Yoshiyama chirped.

Makoto blushed darkly and shoved away from Chiaki, but made no derisive remark towards him. That was a step in the right direction, but he still sighed. It would take a while for her to get used to it. But used to it she would get, he decided with a grin.

"Now, to take down a totalitarian empire!" Makoto cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

"Makoto learned the word totalitarian!" Chiaki cheered, pumping a fist in the air as well.

Makoto's fist met his face, although not very powerfully.

The look on Sogoru's face was slightly maniacal, and everyone loved it. "Let's take back the future."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Prettyinpinkgal: Final chapter guys. Wow, I can't believe I wrote so much in a short amount of time. (But other people just starting to read this will think that all the chapters were posted throughout four years. No guys, everything but the prologue was just posted this month lol) I'm really happy that I'm still getting reviews, and since this is probably going to be one of my last stories here on FanFiction, it's a little sad. But I'm so glad you guys all joined me for the ride. There's been pacing issues in the chapters, that LONG gap of four years of not posting, and so on, but you guys stuck it out. Thank you.  
**

**If anyone's interested in my original work, I am posting as Alyssa_B_Cole on Wattpad, I have my website alyssabcole dot webs dot com, and my facebook page is Alyssa B. Cole. :) Thanks for reading, everyone! You all deserve all the brownies and ice cream in the world. (Unless you're lactose intolerant. In which case, you deserve to be cured of that.)  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" film or novel.  
**

**BEFORE SHE LEAPT  
**

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN  
**

When they got to the Council room, Chiaki held Makoto's hand tightly. Sogoru and Miss Yoshiyama were doing the same in front of them, although they were whispering.

"Do we know what we're going to do, exactly?" Chiaki asked quietly to Makoto. "We could've just left this era."

She shrugged. "Sogoru's got a plan, I think. And besides, even if we do leave, they'll just come back for you guys and maybe do even worse stuff."

He nodded. This made sense. But still... "Remember. Time leap the second things look dangerous."

She didn't reply.

"Promise me, Mako."

"The only thing I'll promise is that we're all going home. Together."

"You're being stupid."

"So are you."

"If things go badly, at least one of us should go on living."

"And go back to the freaky twilight zone timeline by myself?" Makoto demanded with a snort. "No, thank you."

He pinched her hand a little. She kicked the back of his leg and made him stumble before her hand dragged him back into a normal walking position.

They reached the doors to the room. Sogoru looked back at everyone. They nodded.

The doors swung open as the group walked into the dark meeting hall, towards the table. The Council members all stood and looked at them. They did not seem surprised at their entrance. In fact, they all held a tube-like object in their hands. Chiaki suddenly remembered when he had seen them before-they were long-range weapons, and he had seen two people killed with them before.

Both he and Sogoru pushed their loved ones behind them. But as soon as they did so, Makoto and Miss Yoshiyama rushed around the men so _they_ were standing in front.

"You can't hurt us," Miss Yoshiyama said, cool as you please. "We're from the past. You'll erase us from the timeline."

"Yeah!" Makoto cried, arms stretched out as if that would be a sufficient barrier to protect the men. "Just leave us alone, and we can stop all this, okay? No one has to hurt anyone!"

Several men began shouting, but Makoto's voice overpowered them. Chiaki thought he felt a swoon coming on.

"Shut the frick up! By the way, why are you all men? Misogynists who couldn't find girlfriends?" she sneered.

"Er, Makoto, I think you're losing focus," Miss Yoshiyama said, sounding a little amused.

"Hang on, Auntie! I'm freaking mad right now! You guys have screwed with me, my family, my friends, and my boyfriend, and you have to stop!"

"We've been trying to preserve the natural order of time the best we could," one of the elders growled. Chiaki supposed it was a good sign that no one had activated their weapons yet. Perhaps the "I'm from the past!" trump card would really work.

"When you mess with the past, no matter what you're doing, of _course_ things are going to be out of whack when you're done!" Makoto shrieked. "You'll always meet at least one person, and you'll always leave some sort of impact on them! But you know," she said, calming down a little, "I don't think the future _has_ to be set in stone. Maybe a lot of things can't be avoided, but things can sometimes be changed for the better. I mean, if it wasn't okay to change time sometimes, why is it even possible to leap through it? I'm not saying you should always do it all the time and not care about the consequences, but trying to kill someone because they messed with the timeline? That's just you being a douchebag. It's not like Chiaki helped Hitler or anything, you pansies."

There was a long pause.

Makoto coughed. "I'm done."

"Makoto Konno," said the Council leader, standing without further hesitation. "You have presented your case. However, the jury still finds-"

"Wait just a moment," Sogoru said, standing beside Miss Yoshiyama to smile at her before proceeding on towards the Council. "I declare this verdict to be invalid."

"You too, Sogoru?" one Council member asked wryly, eyeing the man.

Sogoru ignored the question and pulled out a packet from his suit jacket. He presented it to the Council leader, stating, "This was what me and Miss Yoshiyama searched for prior to rescuing Chiaki Mamiya and Makoto Konno from the time cell."

"By knocking out the guard with the digital key," one man scoffed.

"Exactly. We knocked him out. We never killed him," Sogoru replied haughtily, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"This is the permit for the time leap, is it not?" the Council member said.

"Yes," Sogoru said.

Chiaki thought he saw where he was going with this. He wrapped his arms around Miss Yoshiyama and Makoto languidly, a smirk on his face.

"Turn to page twenty, where I have underlined the key passage."

The Council member squinted at the paragraph, reading aloud: "'The aforementioned device(s) may be used for government protocol except in times resulting in gravest consequences, in which case the rights revert back to its creator(s).'"

"Precisely," Sogoru declared, triumphant.

"Huh?" Makoto whispered to Chiaki.

"You'll see," he said, absolutely giddy again.

Sogoru continued. "I regret the fact that I never even considered this document prior to today. But as it clearly states, _I_ am the one becomes the judge and jury as well as sole user, unless otherwise designated by me, in instances where the gravest consequences occur. And when is the threat of erasing a man's life not considered the greatest of consequences?"

The Council sputtered, not a few men raising their weapons towards Sogoru.

"Furthermore," Sogoru droned on almost lazily, "I signed this document for the government before the war. The Council only formed after the war. Therefore, and I mean this with all due respect, the Council has no authority in this or any case. All rights ought to revert back to me, the creator of the time leap."

Chiaki could see the wheels in Makoto's head turning. She gazed up at him, mouth open. He nodded cheerily, pecking her quickly on the lips before looking back at the Council, feeling pretty suave.

However, one man, against the Council leader's protests, declared that this was absurd. A string of light came from the weapon in his hands, and it crackled like a whip as it missed Sogoru in his haste and struck Chiaki instead.

* * *

Makoto sat by the bedside, staring down at the blankets, her bangs covering her eyes.

"Hey, cheer up," Kousuke said, placing a hand upon Makoto's head.

"I can't," she sighed. "I just...I can't believe this happened."

"I said I'm sorry," the figure lying on the bed cried groggily, rubbing his face. "I forgot I'm allergic to the pills."

"You slept in through our_ entire week _at the beach," Makoto growled, glaring at him. "You could've let your bones set in the, you know, _present-day_ way, with a cast and everything. We even could've signed it!"

"I couldn't play at the beach with a broken leg!"

"You would at least be _awake_ at the beach!"

"You guys are dating and you still act this way," Kousuke sighed.

"It's his/her fault!" they both shouted, pointing at the other.

Kousuke put his hands in the air in surrender. "Hey, at least everyone's awake and healed so we can go to the festival tonight."

"Yeah," Chiaki said, sitting up and gulping down the water by his bed. "By the way, Kousuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop being a third wheel and get yourself a girlfriend," Chiaki said with a cheeky smile.

Kousuke responded with a smirk of his own, hitting his friend's leg. "I told you, I'm asking Kaho out next week!" he retorted while Chiaki cried, "Ow! The skin's still tender, dude!"

"You better," Makoto sneered to Kousuke, poking him in the ribs. "For our first double date, we ought to go watch the basketball game."

"And I'm not consulted about this?" Chiaki demanded.

Makoto rolled her eyes. "You slept through our vacation. You're going to the basketball game. And you're paying."

"Don't I always?" Chiaki sighed in a longsuffering voice.

"Anyway, I'll stop _being a third wheel_ and let you two get on with your makeout time," Kousuke said, standing with a chuckle. "Don't get to far ahead of yourselves, kiddies."

The utter look of humiliation and awkwardness on their features made Kousuke laugh all the way out the door, going to his own room in the hotel.

Makoto looked at Chiaki, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. "It's so nice that Kousuke knows about everything now. It was super handy of Ken-kun. But hey. You sure you're up for tonight?"

"Of course! I'm finally seeing you in a yukata."

She grinned. "By the way, I heard from Auntie Witch. Ken-kun finally decided to 'commute' to work."

"Huh?"

Makoto laughed. "He's going to be the new president of your old country, but he's going to live in this world. Awesome, huh?"

"Pretty much. Glad the Council got booted out. Getting nearly killed by them for illegal reasons helps with impeachment, huh?"

"Yup. You were the poster child for it. You scared me half to death when it happened, though."

"I know. I'm glad the guy didn't have very good aim."

"Anyway," Makoto said after a pause. She never liked to discuss the incident very much. "Ken-kun also went ahead and implanted evidence and paperwork for your being a Japanese citizen. You really can go to college with us now!"

"Great," Chiaki said with a grin. "I'll scare off those college boys from hitting on you."

"Ha! Like any would."

"Give yourself a little credit, wouldja? I wouldn't go out with any girl but the very best."

It was still a little odd being honest about his feelings, but the look on her face after he said it was the best. She grinned at him, kissing his cheek very briefly before cuddling next to him and saying, "You know, I'm glad I leapt. Despite everything, this timeline's the best."

"Agreed." Chiaki said, gently tugging her head towards his, even though the smiles on their lips would make it hard to properly kiss.

**Prettyinpinkgal: Aaand that ending was lame. But this story is done. This story. Is done. Hallelujah. Adios, my lovely readers! May the upcoming summer months be filled with as much fun for you as our trio will be having!  
**


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